The Jedi and the Ambassador
by jadesabre75
Summary: Set 5 years after LOTF - Kyp/OC and J/J story. Kyp is charged with the safekeeping of an Ambassador's life.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Jedi and the Ambassador  
Author(s): jadesabre75  
Timeframe: post LOTF/EU/OC  
Characters: Kyp, Jaina, Jag, Iella, Wedge, other canon characters and OC's  
Genre: romance, humor, angst  
Keywords:  
Summary: This takes place about five years after the defeat of Jacen. Kyp gets assigned to protect an ambassador and much hilarity and drama ensues. Oh yeah, there's some J/J mush too….maybe.**

**  
Notes: Comments are always welcome! Even if you just say "I like it!". I'm not picky.**

**I want to say a huge thank you to The Pied Piper and Jade Eyes! Piper for appreciating my craziness and pointing me in Jade Eyes direction and JE for being my beta. Hopefully she won't regret that. LOL **

**And now…on to the show.**

/____________________________________\

Chapter 1

The cloaked man threaded his way through the dingy warehouse, appearing to casually inspect the merchandise that had been displayed for him. To most people he would look like he was taking a leisurely stroll through an antique shop, but Shaw knew that he was looking for something specific. He always did. The more exotic the better, because that's what sold.

His "friend" always took his time to make his purchases, but he was one of Shaw's biggest customers so he didn't complain. The merchandise wasn't for him -- he had clients that he took care of. And he took very good care of them. For the money he was getting he had to. Plus the fact that what he was doing was illegal, at least in most of the galaxy.

Shaw smiled as he saw him make a circle back towards one piece of merchandise in particular. He had a feeling that one would catch the trader's eye. He had made sure to keep that particular piece as unblemished as possible, knowing that he would probably take a particular interest in it. The man stopped and slowly walked around the item. A smile crept onto the younger man's face and Shaw saw credits popping into his account.

Walking over towards the trader he skimmed his fingertips over any merchandise he passed. It was always a good day when he showed up. Though it hadn't always been like that, especially in the beginning. He had been a reluctant trader. He had been pulled into the seedy underbelly of the universe by accident, but had hardly kicked and screamed to be let go. Once he had gotten a taste of what he could have, he had been hooked and had become one of the best dealers that Shaw had ever seen.

He stopped in front of the man and smiled. "I take it you found something you liked."

He could just make out the lower portion of the other's face under the hood of his cloak as he looked up and nodded. "It's perfect." He said as he looked back at the item. "They will love it."

/____________________________________\

No words were exchange as the two friends completed their morning ritual. Kyp had started joining Jag on his morning run after the younger man had given him grief about getting old. That had been three years ago. Now, every morning at 0400 they set out from the Jedi Temple and wound their way around the half-deserted streets near the temple.

They had started at a ½ mile and now were up to five miles a day. Kyp was in the best shape he had ever been in and had never felt better.

Rounding the corner that led them back to the temple they stopped at the bottom of the steps and started to cool down. Jag had opted to stay after the war and help out at the temple. Luke had more than welcomed the help and had asked him to help train the students in hand to hand combat. The only drawback, was the he saw Jaina a little more than he wanted to. Not that he would ever say anything.

Kyp still couldn't understand why the two of them hadn't mended their relationship. They rarely talked beyond niceties and they were always awkward around each other. Which didn't work well with Kyp since he and Jag shared an apartment at the temple. Jaina divided her time between the temple and the military and seemed to be happy. Kyp knew that neither of them were, though.

"What have you got planned today?" Jag asked the master as they walked up the steps and headed towards their room. Luke had given them one of the bigger rooms that was normally reserved for a master and his apprentice. It had one large shared area and a kitchen. There were two bedrooms, the master, which had it's own bath and the smaller one without a bath. A coin toss had determined who would get the bigger room. Kyp had won.

"Let's see. A big, fat nothing, followed by an afternoon of nothing. And rounding out the evening is a glorious helping of nothing."

Jag laughed and shook his head. "Sounds intriguing."

Kyp snorted. "Something like that." He said as he palmed the door and followed Jag into the living room. "Luke did ask if I would sit in on the Wampas class and observe."

Jag raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure Zekk will love that."

"I will, even if he doesn't." He said with a grin. He clapped the younger man on the shoulder and left to go and jump in the shower.

Kyp had changed since the end of the Galactic war. He had definitely done a lot of maturing before that, but something had clicked in him after Jacen had been defeated and they had fought to bring a sense of normalcy back to life. He was still impatient, he didn't think that would ever go away, but he now knew when to bide his time and wait. Six, seven years ago he would have gone crazy at having nothing to do and no one to argue with. He had woken up one day and realized how much time had been wasted in wallowing in his mistakes and how much he had missed. Kyp had learned to let go of things that he couldn't control and focus on the things that he could. If he made a mistake, he admitted it and moved on. Didn't dwell on what ifs or maybes. Han told him it was because he was getting old.

Officially, he and Corran were in charge of the temple on Coruscant and Luke stayed on Ossus for most of his time. Luke had given him the odd assignment here and there in the last five years, but things were relatively quiet now days and there really wasn't much for the Jedi to do. He'd been sent to help with a few planetary disputes but nothing major. Nothing that required negotiations with a light saber at least. Not that he was complaining. It was kind of nice to not have a war going on for once. Skywalker had also offered him a class and an apprentice, but he had turned them down. Unless he was absolutely needed, he wasn't ready to train anyone for a while.

He took his time in the shower for two reasons. One, because the water felt good on his tired muscles. Even though he and Jag ran every day, he still had aches and pains. Two, because he felt the need to use all the hot water before Jag got to take a shower. As the water started cooling off, he got out and got dressed. He was supposed to meet Han in an hour to help him with the Falcon and he didn't think smelling like a Bantha when he showed up would be appreciated.

Jag was in the kitchen getting a drink of water when the door sounded. Wondering who it would be this early in the morning, he opened the door and smiled at the visitor.

"Jag."

"Jaina." He replied as he turned around to walk back into the living room. Jaina followed and tried to keep her eyes off his half-dressed form. He and Kyp had obviously just gotten back from their run. The former Chiss commander was clad only in his jogging pants with a towel draped over his shoulder. In the last year or so he had let his hair grow a little longer than he normally wore it, the shock of white hair hung down over his forehead, just brushing his eyebrow. She surpressed a shiver as she watched him walk back to the kitchen. Jag had always been in good shape, but the daily run he and Kyp shared had only hardened his muscles even more. The view was definitely still good enough to get a reaction out of her. Thankfully he couldn't tell.

"Durron's in the shower. He should be done soon." He called back to her. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her and sat down on one of the couches.

Not for the first time, Jaina wished things weren't so strained between her and Jag. She hated sitting here and feeling uncomfortable in his presence. Her visits had slackened off and now she only came over to pick the master up for something, never staying more than a few minutes. Kyp had told her, in his own subtle way that they were both morons for not making up. She wasn't sure what was stopping her, but right now she was so busy she didn't really have time to think about it. At least that's what she told herself.

"Hey Jay." She looked up to see Kyp walking into the room, towel over one shoulder and tying his hair back with a leather thong. "You're here awful early." Jag came into the living room and threw Kyp a water bottle. It still amazed him how they seemed to communicate without the force between them.

"I just thought you might want to grab some breakfast before my meeting." She returned, still trying to keep her eyes off of Jag who had sat down next to Kyp.

_Problem Goddess?_ Kyp sent her through their bond.

_Bite me Durron_. She snapped

"Sure." He said as he stood up and tossed the towel at Jag. "Don't forget I'm not home tonight Jag."

"Make sure you don't stay out late dear." Jag lobbed back at him as he stood up and walked to the bathroom.

"I won't honey. Don't wait up for me."

"You two scare me." Jaina said as she shook her head and followed Kyp out the door.

/____________________________________\

Ambassador Jade Storm smiled as Iella made her way to the table. The two women tried to see each other as much as possible, but it was hard between their schedules. It seemed that lately their events just hadn't coincided, so when Iella had comm'd her and asked if she was free for breakfast she'd been pleasantly surprised.

They greeted one another with a hug then sat down and ordered their food.

"So, how have you been?" Jade asked. "I saw that you finally broke that big case you were working on." She said as she took a drink of her caf.

Iella laughed. "And it was about time. I was starting to think we never would." They drifted into comfortable conversation, talking about their families and work. Anything they had missed out on in the last two months.

Jade had become ambassador for Nyreen four years ago and had lived on Coruscant for about 10. She hadn't known a soul, except her older brother, Jake, who had joined the academy about five years before her arrival. Now, Jake was second in command of Rogue Squadron and Jade had been married to Senator Bela Mnaa from Aargau for the last six years. Her parents still resided on Nyreen, where her father was governor of the capital city, but they visited every chance they got.

It had been an accident when they had met. The younger woman had literally ran into her as she had come from having lunch with her brother at the barracks. Jake had been recruited to the Rogues almost as soon as he had stepped foot on the planet and he made it a point to have lunch with Jade whenever he was in town. Even if it was only for a few hours.

"The girls are going to be in town in a week. You need to come by for dinner." Iella told her friend as the waiter dropped their food off at the table.

"Should I bring Jake?" She asked mischievously as Iella just laughed. Over the last couple of years they had noticed Jake and Myri had started arguing more and more every time they got together. At first, they just chalked it up to "sibling" rivalry and hadn't thought anything of it. But then Jake started talking about Myri more and more and Jade finally realized he liked her but didn't know what to do about it. Iella had realized the same about Myri. It became a running joke between them and they were forever trying to find ways to get the two together. The couple wasn't cooperating though.

"I think that is an excellent idea." Iella responded. A movement behind Jade grabbed her attention and she smiled and waved. The ambassador turned in her seat and instantly recognized whom Iella had acknowledged. Of course, you'd have to have been frozen in carbonite for the last 15 years to not know Jaina Solo and Kyp Durron.

/____________________________________\

Jaina had kept up an endless stream of chatter the entire way to the restaurant. Kyp had tuned her out before they had even left the temple. She was nervous about something and he was racking his brain trying to figure it out. The only thing he could come up with was his roommate.

They sat down and Jaina was quiet as she looked over the menu. He stole a glance at her and smiled.

"What meeting do you have today?" He asked her casually. Kyp knew damn well what meeting it was, but he wanted to direct the conversation for the moment. Direct it to her favorite subject at least.

"Pash asked me to come by and finalize the rosters with him this morning. I start a new class next week." She told him without looking up. There was total chaos coming from her, and that worried him a little.

"Jaina."

"Yeah?" She asked, still not looking up at him. When he didn't answer she finally looked up.

"What's wrong?" He prodded.

Her eyes went back to her menu. "Nothing."

"Try again Goddess."

"I said nothing was wrong Durron." She growled back at him.

"I know that's what you said, but I also know you're lying. So how about we cut the chase and you fess up." He told her as he folded his menu on the table in front of him and crossed his arms. Jaina was silent for a minute before she huffed and put her menu down.

"I don't know what's wrong. Ok." She rolled her eyes as he gave her a dubious look. Slouching back in her chair she closed her eyes and was about to say something when the waiter walked up.

The look Kyp threw her said: "This isn't done, not by half." But she sighed in relief anyway.

/____________________________________\

Jag palmed the door to his classroom, still lost in thought and walked over to his office. Luke had gifted him with one of the bigger classrooms that thankfully had a small room attached. Sitting at his desk, he fired up his computer and noticed he had a message. It was from his sister, Wyn. Smiling he opened it up and felt a little twinge of homesickness. It had gotten better over the years, but it still bothered him sometimes. He was extremely thankful for Kyp, who had become like another brother to him, but he hadn't really let himself get close to anyone else. Especially Jaina. She flitted in and out of his radar and he still, after five years, had not gotten her out of his system. He was starting to think he never would.

After Jacen had been defeated, his family had moved back to Corellia. His father had been disgusted with the Chiss ascendary after Jag's brief "vacation" on Tenupe and had decided to take his family back to known space. Naturally, they had ended back up on Corellia. His mother had been overjoyed. Now she wouldn't be so far away from her oldest son and her brother's family. Soontir hadn't really expressed any emotions, but Jag knew he was secretly glad to be back in the core. Wyn and Cem really hadn't changed any. They were both still flying and still goofy. He smiled as he thought of them and knew he would have to make an appearance at home soon. It had been six months since his last visit, and his mother always reminded him when he talked to her. Maybe after his next group of classes ended he would talk to Luke.

Until then he had class schedules to put together and a certain Jedi to not think about. As always, he would be successful in only one of those ventures.


	2. Chapter 2

**Post 2**

/____________________________________\

"Bout time you got here kid." Kyp heard as he walked up the ramp into the Falcon. He found Han sitting in a pile of wires, sparks flying around him from a welding gun. Sometimes, he wondered if the man broke something on the ship just so he could fix it. It was amazing the thing was still flying. At this point, it had to be held together by Solo luck alone.

Leaning against the bulkhead, Kyp crossed his arms in front of him and smiled. "I had to take a shower first. Next time I'll just show up and see how long you can handle it."

"Kid, I've been around Tauntauns. Anything else smells like roses." Han threw back. Kyp frowned as he thought of how much Han had aged in the last few years. The Corellian had always hid his age well, but it was starting to catch up with him. It had started when Chewie died and had only gotten worse when Jacen had started his descent into darkness. Now, with only one child left, two when he counted Kyp, the master found himself wondering when Han would simply  
give up. He'd been through more than most people and was still kicking. How much could one man put up with, no matter how great he was?

"You gonna stand there and think heavy thoughts all day or you gonna help me?"

Kyp chuckled and walked over to see what he could do. "What are you doing exactly?" The younger man asked as he squatted down to peer into the panel. He winced as he heard his knees emit small popping noises.

"I added a new weapons array. Now I'm trying to attach the security grids to it." Han told him as he started to push some of the wires back into the hole in the wall.

"But you just replaced the weapons a year ago?" Kyp asked confused.

Han turned and gave him the Solo grin. "Yeah, but Booster gave me a new one."

Kyp rolled his eyes. "Great. I'm not sure I want to know. Where did he get it from?"

"Some new design out of the Kuat yards. It's a modified Ion cannon."

His mouth dropped open and Kyp was sure it hit the floor. "You have an Ion cannon on the Falcon?!"

"Yep." Han smiled proudly. "Installed it myself."

"Han, those are for capital ships and star destroyers. Why didn't you just get some new turbolasers?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Remind me to not fly with you until you fire it. I don't want to be on it when it overheats your core."

"Watch it kid. You know better than to insult the Falcon. Now hand me that hydrospanner." Han worked quietly for a moment, which for him was a miracle, as Kyp tried to put the panel he had obviously already finished back together. As they worked side by side they both fell into a natural rhythm.

"When are you going to get your hair cut?"

"What?" Kyp asked confused. He had been so immersed in what he was doing he wasn't sure he had heard Han correctly.

"Your hair. When are you gonna cut it?"

"I like my hair like this." Kyp said as he went back to what he was doing.

"It's too long."

The younger man had let his hair grow out in the last few years, not for any particular reason. Just because he felt like it. His raven locks interspersed with gray fell to just below his shoulders. He usually left it tied back so it wouldn't get in his way. Han was always giving him grief about cutting it, but he just ignored him and left it, knowing the older man was just ribbing him.

"Whatever, Dad."

Han chuckled and they went back to work in silence. It didn't surprise Kyp that a few hours passed before they knew it.

"So, how's the kid doing?" Han asked quietly when they took a break finally.

"Which one? Mine or yours?"

The Corellian chuckled and finished off his drink. "Yours."

"Jag's fine. He's been working a lot of classes for Luke lately. You know how he is, jumping into his work when he has something on his mind."

"Good." Was Han's only comment. Kyp smiled and went back over to finish with the panel he had been working on. Han had always tried to act nonplussed when he asked about Jag, but Kyp knew he genuinely liked him and was sorry for how things had turned out between him and Jaina.

Five hours later, they had finally finished with all the work. Han apparently was taking advantage of having someone there to help him since Jaina was always too busy and Leia…well she just didn't get it when it came to his ship. She tried, Force love her, and that was enough. Kyp was putting the tools away in their compartment when he heard Han walk up behind him.

"You're coming over for dinner tonight, right?" He asked as he wiped his hands on a rag.

"I was planning on it. Unless you're going to uninvite me." Kyp joked.

"Not on your life kid."

/____________________________________\

"I'll get it!" Jaina announced as she left the fresher and jogged down the hall towards her parents front door. A grin came to her face as she realized who it was. Smacking the door open she pulled her cousin into the room and proceeded to hug the life out of him. Ben was now taller than his cousin and his aunt, but really that wasn't saying much. Gone was the freckled, youthful face and in its place was a maturity that Kyp sometimes found bothered him.  
Ben had grown up way too fast, but then again, most Jedi children did.

Kyp looked up from setting the table and shook his head. Poor kid. Hadn't even been planetside 20 minutes and Jaina was going to kill him.

"When did you get here? How's uncle Luke? Is he coming back soon?" She shot off questions at Ben as he looked over to Kyp for help. The Jedi master just smiled at him and went back to setting the table. "Traitor." Kyp heard the young man whisper under his breath and he just laughed.

"Jaina, leave Ben alone. At least let him say hi to everyone." Han chastised his daughter as he came into the room with a platter of food. "You can maul him later." Ben sent a grateful look to his uncle as he walked over towards the table with Jaina trailing after him. A few minutes later, Leia came into the room and they all sat down. As the food was passed around, Leia took the initiative and started the conversation back up.

"So Ben, how's your father?"

The young man finished chewing then smiled at his aunt. "He's great."

Han looked up, surprised. "Great?"

Ben nodded enthusiastically and returned to his food. When no one said anything else, he looked up and found them all staring at him. "What?"

"Your dad's great?" Han repeated his question.

Now the young Jedi was confused. "Is he not supposed to be?" He asked slowly.

"It's just that he hasn't been great since…" Leia stopped herself from going any further. Even after all this time it hurt to think of Mara.

Putting his utensils down next to his plate, Ben took a drink of his blue milk and cleared his throat.

"Dad is fine guys. He's actually been doing so much better in the last six months. I can't explain it. I'm not saying he doesn't have his bad moments, but he's happy again. As happy as he can be with mom gone."

Everyone slowly resumed eating and Ben chuckled to himself. "He's talking about naming some more masters too."

Kyp raised an eyebrow at this and Ben smiled at him. Luke had mentioned that issue about a year ago, but hadn't brought it up since then. At least not with him and Coran. They did need some more masters though. The council could always use them as well as the students.

"Anyone in particular?" Han asked.

"A couple you might be familiar with." Ben said with a smirk, not offering any more information.

"Like?" Leia asked expectantly.

"Well, Zekk's name has come up. And Tenel's of course."

"And?"

Ben laughed. "And Jaina's."

Jaina nearly choked on the bite she had just taken. Kyp reached over to thump her on the back and tried to keep from laughing. Han didn't try. He roared with laughter and Leia smacked him. Rubbing his arm and throwing her a hurt look he looked back at his nephew.

"That all?" He asked, still chuckling.

"For right now. Those are the only ones that he's sure about. There might be a few more."

"You ok, Goddess?" Kyp asked Jaina as she took a drink and tried to stop her eyes from watering. She nodded and he turned back to his own plate, a grin plastered on his face.

"All I have to say is it's about time." Han mumbled.

/____________________________________\

Kyp and Jaina walked the first part of the way back to the temple in silence. It wasn't too late yet, the sun hadn't set all the way and the chill hadn't started in the air. Stealing a glance at Jaina, Kyp cleared his throat.

"There's a smash ball game on tomorrow night. You wanna come over and watch it?" He asked his friend, even though he knew what she would say.

"I can't." Jaina told him quietly. He felt her close herself off from him and clenched his jaw. She'd been subdued since Ben had made the announcement at dinner. Kyp found himself agreeing with Han that it had taken Luke long enough to make the decision on those three becoming masters. They should have been five years ago, but with everything that had happened during the war he wasn't really surprised it had been pushed aside.

"Why not?" He pushed, not feeling very charitable at the moment for some reason. Maybe he was just tired of her doing this. Closing everyone out.

"I just can't, Kyp."

"No, you just won't." Kyp responded harshly. "I swear if you two were any more stubborn…"

Jaina said nothing as they continued their walk home. Even though she still worked for the military part time she technically wasn't an officer anymore. She had taken up residence in the temple, but Kyp knew she would rather have been anywhere else. As long as it wasn't around Jag.

"Maybe if you would stop trying to force something that wasn't meant to happen, we wouldn't have this problem." She threw back at him. "Jag and I are over Kyp. Have been for a long time. You apparently are the only one that has problems accepting that."

"Whatever." He said as he shook his head and told himself not to get angry. It wasn't his future he was watching disappear, but it still irked him. If any two people were meant to be together it was those two. They were just too stupid to see it.

"Why do you always bring this up?" She whispered as they approached the temple.

"Why can't you forgive yourself?"

Jaina stopped as her foot hit the first step and turned to gape at him. "What?!"

"Let's face it, you're the one with the issue. You can't forgive yourself for what you did to Jag and how things ended between the two of you."

"Jag doesn't want me back Kyp. Any love he had for me was erased on Tenupe. I did something unthinkable to him." She said, her voice raised in anger. Kyp wasn't sure if it was at him or herself.

"Are you sure about that? Have you asked him? Have you even tried to find out?" The master narrowed his eyes as he stepped closer to her. "You want to know what I think?" He asked her quietly.

"No, but you're going to tell me anyway." Jaina retorted bitterly.

"You're scared."

The young woman laughed and turned to walk up the stairs, but Kyp followed closely behind.

"You're scared that he will actually take you back. You're scared that he still loves you." He told her back as she walked wordlessly down the hall towards their rooms. Gently, Kyp reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her flight. Because that's what it truly was. She was running away. Something she was good at when it came to her feelings.

Anger lined her visage as he turned her to face him again. He searched her eyes for a moment and saw the pain she tried to keep hidden from everyone. Kyp saw glimpses of it sometimes, but Jaina was so used to stuffing her own pain deep down in some hidden place, that she didn't even realize when she did  
it.

"The Sword of the Jedi has finished its job Jaina Solo. Just remember this." His voice softened and he pulled her into his arms. "Every sword, when it's not in use, needs a scabbard to rest in and be protected. It can't be brandished indefinitely. Give yourself a chance to be happy for once. Even if you think you don't deserve it." Kyp kissed her forehead, then headed down a branching hall leaving her staring after him.

/____________________________________\

Jag was sitting on the couch when Kyp walked in. He looked up and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You're home early." the younger man commented as he sat up straighter and turned the holonews down. "Everything ok?"

Kyp just shook his head in disgust and rolled his eyes as he walked over to sit next to Jag. Resting his head in his hands he took a deep breath, and looked over at his friend.

"She drives me nuts sometimes."

Jag chuckled. "You don't say. I think it's a Solo trait."

Kyp sat back and regarded his friend. Jag was an enigma to most people. There wasn't much about his friend that surprised him anymore, but every once in a while something would pop up. The former Chiss pilot didn't let many people close and probably wouldn't have let Kyp and Jaina get that way if it hadn't been required. He had shared a few things with Kyp in the past few years though. Things about his family and his life growing up. Showed sides of himself that other people rarely got to see. Kyp thought that was probably why they were so close now.

Their relationship had gotten to the point that no questions were taboo anymore, but he had never really cornered Jag on what exactly he felt about Jaina anymore. He knew there were still feelings there, but didn't know how deep they ran. Maybe it was time to find out.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kyp said as he turned his gaze forward. He saw Jag nod in his peripheral vision and jumped into the fire.

"What exactly is keeping you from just walking up to Jaina and smacking one on her?"

"Besides my pride?" he finally answered the master.

"Yeah."

Sighing, Jag turned the holonet off, but kept staring at the place where the news had previously been. He took a few moments before answering. Kyp wasn't in a hurry though.

"My heart can't handle her running again. From me, or anyone else." He told him quietly, then got up and walked out of the room.

/____________________________________\


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been hours since she had finally drifted off to sleep. Bela lay there holding Jade and listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, unable to fall asleep. Usually this was a balm to him, but not today. Sighing quietly in defeat, he placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder and slipped out of bed without waking her. His steps took him down the hall and before he realized it he was standing in front of the back door. Looking up into the night sky he wondered again how he had let himself get mired in the business he was in.

He always came back to one thing when he asked himself this question. Shortly before he had graduated from basic training he had become friends with someone he shouldn't have. He had been rebellious and looking for some fun, when he suddenly found himself in over his head. Khromi had talked him into trying spice. Leaning his head against the cool glass he shuddered when he thought of those days. Half of them he couldn't even remember and the ones he did, he wished he couldn't.

Not only was Khromi into spice, but he had also had a dark secret that he finally revealed to his friend. The seedy underbelly of his friend's home planet had sucked him in without a second thought. And he had went willingly.

Doped up on spice and harboring a need to prove himself, he dove right in and didn't realize what it would cost him until it was too late. The spice addiction he got over, the other addiction was still going on. It was one that you didn't break yourself from unless you killed everyone in power above you or you died. Those were the only two options and neither one appealed to him.

Realizing there was no out, he worked to make a name for himself and outshone all his competitors. He pushed the horror of his job aside and made himself numb to it. It was the only way he could function. Sometimes he felt like two people, one good and one evil. The worst part was that with the flick of a switch he could move between the two and it didn't bother him. He closed himself off from his emotions and it only made him better. Made him stronger.

Until he met her. Everything changed that day. Oh he could still do his job, but his conscious rattled him constantly. It made him sleepless most nights, not because he wasn't tired. He stayed awake to keep the nightmares away. Horrible images that wreaked havoc on his psyche and threatened to bring him down. But he refused to let them. He would not be broken by this. He would not let it touch Jade.

She thought he was an honorable man. Trustworthy. He loved her more than anything in the galaxy and he knew that if she found out about him it would be over. Everything. His life would cease to be important. The money wouldn't matter. Nothing would. So he kept it hidden. Before he had met her, he had become quite good at hiding his nefarious activities and had only improved in the past years. But it still ate at him.

Giving the night sky one last look, he walked back down the hall and climbed into bed. She turned over to snuggle closer to his warmth and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. He would end this for her.

/____________________________________\

_A few days later..._

"Surely you must be joking, Ambassador." One of the senators asked her incredulously. Jade was able to keep from rolling her eyes at the man sitting across from her but it was not possible for her to hold her tongue.

"Have you ever known me to joke about something like this?" She asked calmly, with a small bite to her question.

"No." he answered hesitantly.

"Then why would you think this was any different?"

The man fidgeted in his seat and she threw him a look that said "well?". In her head she knew that she had him. He couldn't argue with her at this point, at least not with something legitimate. Looking at the other people seated at the table, she found most of them avoiding her gaze. Bela owed her. Originally he had scheduled this meeting himself, but his latest trip had taken longer than he had thought and, being the good wife that she was, she had offered to take his place. She could argue his points almost as well as he could, so it really wasn't an issue. She just hated dealing with most of the particular senators that were in the room at the moment.

Waiting to see if any one had the gall to try and argue with her any further, she said nothing for a moment, then stood. "Gentlemen, if there's no other objections I believe we are done here." Grumbling greeted her ears and she allowed a corner of her mouth to turn upwards. Picking up the datapad in front of her she nodded to the Chief of State then left the room. Jade closed her eyes as she waited for the next turbo lift and took a deep breath.

"Your husband knew what he was doing when he sent you." A voice from behind her broke her from her thoughts and she smiled. Turning slightly, she dipped her head in thanks at the compliment and waited for him to continue. This particular senator never said anything if it wasn't worth saying and he always had something to say.

"Thank you Senator Calrissian. Coming from you that's a compliment." She told him impudently as she walked into the now waiting turbo lift. He followed her and she chuckled. Jade genuinely liked Lando and loved his wife. Bela had invited the pair over to dinner every few months and she and Tendra had gotten to be friends.

"Have you thought any further about my suggestion?" He asked her as they rode the lift down.

"About becoming a senator?" He nodded at her question and she laughed.

"I'm not sure the senate is quite ready for that Lando. Hell, I don't think I'm ready for that myself."

Lando laughed and motioned for her to preceed him out of the lift. "You might be right about that Jade, but you have to agree it would be interesting."

"Interesting might be your word for it. I'm sure the other senators would find some not so nice words to use."

"Too true." He told her as he flashed her his famous grin.

"Good night, Lando. Give my love to Tendra." She told him over her shoulder as she walked down the senate steps. She reached the bottom and was just about to hail an air taxi when a voice stopped her.

"Hey, squirt." He said before he picked her up from behind and swung her around. A small squeal of delight escaped her as he put her down and she turned to launch herself at him.

"Jake! You're home!" He chuckled as she gave him a hug and realized how much he had missed her. "When did you get back?" She asked as she pulled back to look at him. He had been gone for two months this time. She hated it when he was gone that long and knew he wasn't too fond of it either. But it was part of the job.

"Just a few hours ago. Jared told me you were down here so I talked him into letting me pick you up. It's not like you need a guard when you have a Rogue to keep watch over you." He joked. "You hungry?"

"Of course. My treat." She told him as they turned to walk arm in arm down the sidewalk. He talked briefly about his trip as they walked to a nearby restaurant. When they were seated, he looked over at her while she perused the menu.

"So how are you?" He asked. She met his eyes and he saw confusion.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Just making sure. Jared didn't say why you were in the senate building, but that's not usually your normal hideout. Is everything ok?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. Jade smiled at that. Jake was very overprotective of her and while it had annoyed her to no end while she was growing up, now it was one of the things that made him her brother. He took his older brother role very seriously.

"Everything is fine. Bela just got delayed with something and asked me to do it for him. No big deal."

Jake nodded and she could see the relief flood his eyes. Smiling to herself, she went back to her menu.

"Have you talked to mom and dad lately?" He asked, after the waiter had come to take their orders.

She nodded as she swallowed the sip of wine she had just taken. "Yep. Just yesterday. Dad's been crazy busy with the mayors lately. You know how they are, questioning everything he does. Like he's made bad decisions or something. I don't know how he keeps his sanity around them."

Jake chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I think I would have spaced some of them a long time ago."

"Which is why you're not a governor or hold any other office." She threw at him. They laughed and she continued. "He did say he was hoping to be here in a few weeks. He has some business with the senate and wants to have dinner with us, if you're on planet."

"I can only hope. It's so hard coordinating all of our stupid schedules. Guess that's what happens when you have too many important people in the family."

She gave him a dubious look. "You're important?" He laughed and kicked her lightly under the table.

"Smart ass."

/____________________________________\

There was nothing that Jag liked more than sitting on the balcony and enjoying a cold ale. Well, there were probably a few things, but right now he could argue the point. He had graduated his Wanpa class today and he wasn't sure if it was relief he felt or dismay. For someone who didn't form attachments easy, he was finding it more and more difficult to not connect with his students on a personal level. This particular group of 15 year olds had tested him especially hard though, but he had finally brought them around to his way of thinking.

Taking a sip, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Kyp would be home from his meeting with Coran soon, so he wanted to enjoy the silence as long as possible. Not that he didn't like having Kyp for a roommate. The master was probably one of the only people he felt comfortable enough with to share living quarters.

No, the problem was the conversation from a few nights ago. The question had been bouncing around in his head and he had answered his friend honestly. His pride had been the issue at first. How many times could a man get shot down by the same woman before he finally realized it was time to stop. Apparently a lot. Who was he kidding. He fought the urge to do just as Kyp had suggested at least once a week and it wasn't his pride that was in the way now. He didn't think he had anything left to give, at least not if it was going to be thrown back into his face. But he didn't know if he could settle for less than Jaina. Sure, Jag dated but it seemed that every time he met someone they were compared to her. Which really wasn't fair to either him or his date, so he had stopped.

Sighing, he drained the bottle and stood up. Maybe it was time to take Iella up on her offer to set him up. He had to find a way to move on.

/____________________________________\

Jade closed her eyes as she felt another wave of nausea course through her. The images wouldn't leave her head, no matter how hard she tried to scrub them out. Concentrating on making her breathing more even, she tried to find what her brother referred to as her "happy place". It wasn't working. She leapt up from her chair and ran to the fresher, barely making it there before her stomach convulsed. Not that there was anything left to empty. Dry heaves had been the only thing she had left at this point. Her sides already ached from vomiting so much and if there was one thing she hated, it was throwing up.

When her stomach finally stopped protesting, she leaned back against the wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. Her head plopped down on her knees and the air suddenly felt oppressive as she struggled to gain control of her emotions.

She wasn't going to waste her time wishing this hadn't happened, or try to convince herself it hadn't. That was utterly useless and Jade had learned a long time ago to stop doing that. She might not be able to control what he had done, but she could sure as Sith do something to keep it from continuing.

Jade took a deep breath and steadied her hands against the wall to stand. Determinedly she walked back into her office and walked over to the comm station, careful to keep her eyes off the screen of her computer.

/____________________________________\


	4. Chapter 4

**Post 4 **

It had been hours since she had finally drifted off to sleep. Bela lay there holding Jade and listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing, unable to fall asleep. Usually this was a balm to him, but not today. Sighing quietly in defeat, he placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder and slipped out of bed without waking her. His steps took him down the hall and before he realized it he was standing in front of the back door. Looking up into the night sky he wondered again how he had let himself get mired in the business he was in.

He always came back to one thing when he asked himself this question. Shortly before he had graduated from basic training he had become friends with someone he shouldn't have. He had been rebellious and looking for some fun, when he suddenly found himself in over his head. Khromi had talked him into trying spice. Leaning his head against the cool glass he shuddered when he thought of those days. Half of them he couldn't even remember and the ones he did, he wished he couldn't.

Not only was Khromi into spice, but he had also had a dark secret that he finally revealed to his friend. The seedy underbelly of his friend's home planet had sucked him in without a second thought. And he had went willingly. Doped up on spice and harboring a need to prove himself, he dove right in and didn't realize what it would cost him until it was too late. The spice addiction he got over, the other addiction was still going on. It was one that you didn't break yourself from unless you killed everyone in power above you or you died. Those were the only two options and neither one appealed to him.

Realizing there was no out, he worked to make a name for himself and outshone all his competitors. He pushed the horror of his job aside and made himself numb to it. It was the only way he could function. Sometimes he felt like two people, one good and one evil. The worst part was that with the flick of a switch he could move between the two and it didn't bother him. He closed himself off from his emotions and it only made him better. Made him stronger.

Until he met her. Everything changed that day. Oh he could still do his job, but his conscious rattled him constantly. It made him sleepless most nights, not because he wasn't tired. He stayed awake to keep the nightmares away. Horrible images that wreaked havoc on his psyche and threatened to bring him down. But he refused to let them. He would not be broken by this. He would not let it touch Jade.

She thought he was an honorable man. Trustworthy. He loved her more than anything in the galaxy and he knew that if she found out about him it would be over. Everything. His life would cease to be important. The money wouldn't matter. Nothing would. So he kept it hidden. Before he had met her, he had become quite good at hiding his nefarious activities and had only improved in the past years. But it still ate at him.

Giving the night sky one last look, he walked back down the hall and climbed into bed. She turned over to snuggle closer to his warmth and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. He would end this for her.

/____________________________________\

_A few days later..._

"Surely you must be joking, Ambassador." One of the senators asked her incredulously. Jade was able to keep from rolling her eyes at the man sitting across from her but it was not possible for her to hold her tongue.

"Have you ever known me to joke about something like this?" She asked calmly, with a small bite to her question.

"No." he answered hesitantly.

"Then why would you think this was any different?"

The man fidgeted in his seat and she threw him a look that said "well?". In her head she knew that she had him. He couldn't argue with her at this point, at least not with something legitimate. Looking at the other people seated at the table, she found most of them avoiding her gaze. Bela owed her. Originally he had scheduled this meeting himself, but his latest trip had taken longer than he had thought and, being the good wife that she was, she had offered to take his place. She could argue his points almost as well as he could, so it really wasn't an issue. She just hated dealing with most of the particular senators that were in the room at the moment.

Waiting to see if any one had the gall to try and argue with her any further, she said nothing for a moment, then stood. "Gentlemen, if there's no other objections I believe we are done here." Grumbling greeted her ears and she allowed a corner of her mouth to turn upwards. Picking up the datapad in front of her she nodded to the Chief of State then left the room. Jade closed her eyes as she waited for the next turbo lift and took a deep breath.

"Your husband knew what he was doing when he sent you." A voice from behind her broke her from her thoughts and she smiled. Turning slightly, she dipped her head in thanks at the compliment and waited for him to continue. This particular senator never said anything if it wasn't worth saying and he always had something to say.

"Thank you Senator Calrissian. Coming from you that's a compliment." She told him impudently as she walked into the now waiting turbo lift. He followed her and she chuckled. Jade genuinely liked Lando and loved his wife. Bela had invited the pair over to dinner every few months and she and Tendra had gotten to be friends.

"Have you thought any further about my suggestion?" He asked her as they rode the lift down.

"About becoming a senator?" He nodded at her question and she laughed.

"I'm not sure the senate is quite ready for that Lando. Hell, I don't think I'm ready for that myself."

Lando laughed and motioned for her to preceed him out of the lift. "You might be right about that Jade, but you have to agree it would be interesting."

"Interesting might be your word for it. I'm sure the other senators would find some not so nice words to use."

"Too true." He told her as he flashed her his famous grin.

"Good night, Lando. Give my love to Tendra." She told him over her shoulder as she walked down the senate steps. She reached the bottom and was just about to hail an air taxi when a voice stopped her.

"Hey, squirt." He said before he picked her up from behind and swung her around. A small squeal of delight escaped her as he put her down and she turned to launch herself at him.

"Jake! You're home!" He chuckled as she gave him a hug and realized how much he had missed her. "When did you get back?" She asked as she pulled back to look at him. He had been gone for two months this time. She hated it when he was gone that long and knew he wasn't too fond of it either. But it was part of the job.

"Just a few hours ago. Jared told me you were down here so I talked him into letting me pick you up. It's not like you need a guard when you have a Rogue to keep watch over you." He joked. "You hungry?"

"Of course. My treat." She told him as they turned to walk arm in arm down the sidewalk. He talked briefly about his trip as they walked to a nearby restaurant. When they were seated, he looked over at her while she perused the menu.

"So how are you?" He asked. She met his eyes and he saw confusion.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Just making sure. Jared didn't say why you were in the senate building, but that's not usually your normal hideout. Is everything ok?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. Jade smiled at that. Jake was very overprotective of her and while it had annoyed her to no end while she was growing up, now it was one of the things that made him her brother. He took his older brother role very seriously.

"Everything is fine. Bela just got delayed with something and asked me to do it for him. No big deal."

Jake nodded and she could see the relief flood his eyes. Smiling to herself, she went back to her menu.

"Have you talked to mom and dad lately?" He asked, after the waiter had come to take their orders.

She nodded as she swallowed the sip of wine she had just taken. "Yep. Just yesterday. Dad's been crazy busy with the mayors lately. You know how they are, questioning everything he does. Like he's made bad decisions or something. I don't know how he keeps his sanity around them."

Jake chuckled and nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I think I would have spaced some of them a long time ago."

"Which is why you're not a governor or hold any other office." She threw at him. They laughed and she continued. "He did say he was hoping to be here in a few weeks. He has some business with the senate and wants to have dinner with us, if you're on planet."

"I can only hope. It's so hard coordinating all of our stupid schedules. Guess that's what happens when you have too many important people in the family."

She gave him a dubious look. "You're important?" He laughed and kicked her lightly under the table.

"Smart ass."

/____________________________________\

There was nothing that Jag liked more than sitting on the balcony and enjoying a cold ale. Well, there were probably a few things, but right now he could argue the point. He had graduated his Wanpa class today and he wasn't sure if it was relief he felt or dismay. For someone who didn't form attachments easy, he was finding it more and more difficult to not connect with his students on a personal level. This particular group of 15 year olds had tested him especially hard though, but he had finally brought them around to his way of thinking.

Taking a sip, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Kyp would be home from his meeting with Coran soon, so he wanted to enjoy the silence as long as possible. Not that he didn't like having Kyp for a roommate. The master was probably one of the only people he felt comfortable enough with to share living quarters.

No, the problem was the conversation from a few nights ago. The question had been bouncing around in his head and he had answered his friend honestly. His pride had been the issue at first. How many times could a man get shot down by the same woman before he finally realized it was time to stop. Apparently a lot. Who was he kidding. He fought the urge to do just as Kyp had suggested at least once a week and it wasn't his pride that was in the way now. He didn't think he had anything left to give, at least not if it was going to be thrown back into his face. But he didn't know if he could settle for less  
than Jaina. Sure, Jag dated but it seemed that every time he met someone they were compared to her. Which really wasn't fair to either him or his date, so he had stopped.

Sighing, he drained the bottle and stood up. Maybe it was time to take Iella up on her offer to set him up. He had to find a way to move on.

/____________________________________\

Jade closed her eyes as she felt another wave of nausea course through her. The images wouldn't leave her head, no matter how hard she tried to scrub them out. Concentrating on making her breathing more even, she tried to find what her brother referred to as her "happy place". It wasn't working. She leapt up from her chair and ran to the fresher, barely making it there before her stomach convulsed. Not that there was anything left to empty. Dry heaves had been the only thing she had left at this point. Her sides already ached from vomiting so much and if there was one thing she hated, it was throwing up.

When her stomach finally stopped protesting, she leaned back against the wall and pulled her legs up to her chest. Her head plopped down on her knees and the air suddenly felt oppressive as she struggled to gain control of her emotions.

She wasn't going to waste her time wishing this hadn't happened, or try to convince herself it hadn't. That was utterly useless and Jade had learned a long time ago to stop doing that. She might not be able to control what he had done, but she could sure as Sith do something to keep it from continuing.

Jade took a deep breath and steadied her hands against the wall to stand. Determinedly she walked back into her office and walked over to the comm station, careful to keep her eyes off the screen of her computer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Post 5**

Iella was just getting ready to go home for the day when her comm went off. It trilled a few times and she glared at it as she kept gathering her work. After seven trills, she finally huffed and picked it up.

"Iella here."

"Ella?"

"Jade?" She asked confused.

"Yeah. Do you have a minute?" To most people, Jade's voice would have sounded normal. Iella knew better. Something was wrong.

"Sure. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" The intelligence agent asked as she sat back down at her desk and hoped she was just being paranoid. The silence that greeted her confirmed that she wasn't.

"Jade?"

"I have something you need to see." The voice told her, a bit quieter than before.

Iella's stomach dropped as she closed her eyes and swore to herself. "How bout I stop by on the way home?"

"That's fine. I'll be here." Jade responded then dropped the line.

Jade was a carefree person, or at least had been for as long as Iella had known her. She didn't let many things bother her. The younger woman had once told her: "My job is stressful enough, I don't need any drama in my personal life." Jade definitely lived her life by that creed. Of course, her upbringing helped immensely considering she had been in the public eye for most of it. There also had to be something in the Storm genes too, because Jake was the exact same way. If there was ever anyone you wanted to be in charge in a chaotic situation, it was a Storm. Level headed, trustworthy, and decisive. Those were all words she would use for the two siblings.

Iella realized she was delaying the inevitable, so she picked up her comm and opened a line to home.

"Antillies."

Iella smiled. "Hey handsome."

"Hey yourself, beautiful. You on your way home?" She could hear the girls talking in the background. It was rare that both her daughters were home at the same time, so she had been looking forward to this weekend. Syal was in her second year in the military and she was very much her father's daughter. She had taken to flying and service just as well and as quickly as he had. Myri, on the other hand, was all Iella. Ironically enough, she had just graduated basic training and had put her application into Intelligence. As a mother, she was both proud and frightened for her girls. When she would have a moment and start to worry about them Wedge would simply remind her that they had raised their girls well and they had to have confidence in them.

Likewise, when Wedge and Iella had allowed Jake and Jade into their lives, they had also invited them into the girls'. She didn't think she would be able to repay either of them for the help they had given her and Wedge over the years. There had been days when neither one of them had been able to leave work because of one crisis or another and both Storm siblings had stepped in to help without thinking about it.

"Um…not yet. I need to stop by Jade's first."

"Why don't you just invite her? I'm sure the girls would like to see her."

Iella grimaced. "I don't know how long I'm going to be." She told her husband quietly.

Wedge paused. "Not good news I take it." He finally said.

"Well, when Jade calls me and she sounds upset, it can't be good."

"No, it can't. Call me when you start home."

"I will. I love you." She told him with a smile.

"Love you too."

/____________________________________\

Iella pulled her speeder up to Senator Mnaa's residence. The big mansion was set in an area that was highly protected and fairly isolated for being so close to the city. She had been here many times before to visit her friend, usually under happier circumstances. The sprawling house was one of the newer buildings on the planet. There had been a large majority of people who had screamed that the planet needed to be brought back to its former glory. A "living" planet where everything was utilized to its utmost and even at night seemed to glow with an artificial light. Fortunately that majority was not in charge. While some of the bigger buildings had been restored, most were razed. Now, instead of having blocks and blocks of buildings, there were more flora and fauna. More parks where people could go to relax and spend time with friends and loved ones. After everything the galaxy had been through, just in the last 30 years, it was decided that maybe tradition, in this aspect, wasn't so good after all.

As Iella stood at the door waiting for Jade to answer she tried to think about what the younger woman would present her with. Jade wasn't the type of person to get upset over nothing. Being a governor's daughter would do that to you. The door slid open and Jade stood there with tears in her eyes. Iella walked in and gave her friend a hug as the door closed behind them. She felt a tremor from Jade, which was uncharacteristic, before the younger woman stepped away from her.

"What happened?" Iella asked.

Jade motioned her friend to follow her and attempted to explain as they walked upstairs to her office.

"I found something on my computer that I know I didn't put there or receive from anyone I know." She said as they walked the short distance to Jade's office. Iella didn't push her to reveal anymore as she followed her through the doorway. The ambassador walked over to the console and sat down and Iella stood behind her as she brought up the information.

"Item579146?" She said quietly, more to herself than Jade. Jade clicked on the file and Iella was sure she couldn't hide her gasp. It wasn't that she hadn't seen anything like this before. She'd viewed this and worse more times than she cared to remember. What surprised her was who was showing it to her and that it was on something that this person owned.

On the screen there were various pictures of beings, alien and human alike, in multiple states of disarray. Some just looked as if they had just been woken up and hadn't been given time to make themselves presentable. Others looked as if they had gone five rounds with a rancor. To the right of each holo was a short description of the individual: where they were from, ages, attributes and so on. What caught Iella's eye was the last line of each description. It was a price.

"Slaves." She whispered.

At some point Jade had reneged her seat to her friend and Iella had poured over the data silently. She didn't have to worry about mindless chatter. Jade had watched the intelligence officer work before and knew that the silence from her wasn't meant to be insulting. She was simply focused on her job.

Jade walked over to sit on the couch that spread across a wall on one side of the room. Wrapping her arms around herself she closed her eyes and found herself asking the same question she had two hours ago.

"How could I miss this?" Not realizing she had spoken out loud, she was startled when Iella spoke.

"Whose file is this Jade?"

Jade looked up at her friend and forced herself to say the name. "Bela's."

Iella's eyes went wide. If it had been anyone else, she would have told them they were out of their kriffing mind.

"He had to borrow my console last week because his was broken and being repaired. I didn't think anything of it. That file has been sitting there for a whole week and I never noticed it." Closing her eyes to keep the tears at bay, she heard Iella get up and come sit next to her. As her friend pulled her into an embrace she finally let go of the tears.

"It's not your fault, honey." She told the younger woman.

Jade pulled back and wiped her cheeks. "Oh I know it's not my fault. I just keep going back and forth between being furious and not understanding how this happened. I married him for Force sake. How could he be doing this and I not know it?"

Iella grabbed Jade's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I don't know, but I will find out. I need to take the hard drive with me though." Jade nodded. "When does he come back?"

"Not for another week. He took his own console with him."

"We'll worry about that later." She told her as she stood up and walked back over to the computer. She closed the files and then started to separate the database from its console. "I'm more worried about getting this information processed and moving things along before he gets back." Iella paused and looked up at her. "And you."

Jade gave her a weak smile. "I'll be fine."

"You're right. Because you're coming home with me tonight."

"Ella…"

"No discussion." Iella told her as she walked over towards her and gave her the best motherly look she could. "I'm not leaving you here tonight by yourself."

/____________________________________\

Bela walked back to the room he had left the girl in and stopped just outside the door. He had just gone into hyperspace and it would be an hour before he reached his clients. There were still a few things he needed to take care of. One of the guards had taken the girl on board the ship and Bela had yet to see her again. His men knew they didn't get rough with the merchandise. That was the quickest way to meet their untimely end.

"Is she secured?" He asked the man quietly. A nod was his reply and he dismissed the guard. Taking a deep breath he palmed the door and walked in. Sitting on the bunk was a 12 year old Twi'lek girl he'd gotten from Shaw a week ago. Her lavender skin was near perfect, just as Shaw had promised and his clients would be very pleased. He sat on the bunk across from her and gave her a little smile. She didn't say anything, just looked at him with wide eyes. The sedative they had been forced to give her was still affecting her and Bela sent up a silent thanks. Apparently her family had traded her for a debt six  
months ago and she didn't know what to expect. Shaw was an expert in subduing his items mentally without hurting them. Bela chuckled morosely. Shaw was good at mental abuse was what it boiled down to.

She had fought when they had taken the stun collar off of her in the warehouse. It was so hard to deal with that because his men couldn't just knock the person out. They had to be delicate to make sure it didn't affect the deal. Bela's clients were picky and if something wasn't delivered exactly as promised or wished, then they canceled.

"I'm going to take you to your new home. We'll be there soon, but there are some things I have to tell you first." She just stared at him, fear evident in her eyes and he continued. "Your new owners are very nice people. They've been searching for someone for a very long time and they will be very happy to see you. This is a good thing for you, as long as you do what you are told. If you follow orders, you don't have to worry about getting beaten or mistreated. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded slightly and Bela stood. "Good. I'll get you something to eat and we'll be there in no time."

He left the room and walked to the cargo hold where the galley was. That had been easier than he thought it would be. Thankfully. He hated it when they fought. This meant he would be able to get home to Jade sooner too. He'd been gone only a few days but he missed her already. That was one thing he hated about being a Senator. There was always something going on away from home. That would change soon though. Very soon.

/____________________________________\

Wedge looked up and smiled as the two women came through the door. It was five hours after he had gotten the call from his wife and he had been waiting as patiently as possible since then. He stood up and walked towards them and felt a pull in his chest as Iella smiled at him. She was still as beautiful as she had been when he had first met her. Pulling her into his arms he kissed her lightly, then turned his attention to Jade.

She smiled at him, but he couldn't see it in her eyes. That was not good. He noticed the bag over her shoulder and the pull in his chest intensified, but not in the good way it had before.

"What happened?" He asked quietly as he followed them into the kitchen. Iella got herself a glass of water while Jade perched on one of the stools at the island. Wedge waited and when his wife turned back around to look at him he raised an eyebrow.

"Are the girls asleep?" She asked quietly. When he nodded, she finished her drink and sighed.

"It's Bela." Wedge transferred his attention to Jade and moved to sit by her. He reached over to enfold her hand in his and felt her squeeze. "He's doing something illegal and apparently when he borrowed my computer last week he forgot to cover his trail."

"He's trading slaves Wedge." His gaze shot back up to his wife, hoping he hadn't heard her correctly.

"Bela? There's got to be some mistake. Bela wouldn't do that."

"That's what I thought. I saw it with my own eyes Wedge. My husband is in the slave trade, and apparently has been for a while. He left a trail, clear as day." Her eyes rose to meet his and he saw the pain and anger in them.

"I don't understand." He heard himself say. It felt like an out of body experience. He wouldn't say he was best friends with the man, but he knew him, or thought he had, well enough to know he didn't deal with this kind of stuff. "Why in the blazes would Bela deal in slaves? He doesn't need the money or the notoriety."

"You're guess is as good as ours." Iella responded. Silence reined for a few minutes as he tried to wrap his head around the idea. This was like finding out that Luke Skywalker was secretly teaching Sith at his academy. Bela Mnaa came from a planet that, up until 10 years ago, had itself dealt in slaves. His whole adult life he had fought to abolish slavery on his planet and elsewhere. He was extremely well respected throughout the galaxy and there was even talk about him becoming the next Chief of State. His ability to connect with the many different species that the government dealt with was something  
that hadn't been seen in quite a while. To find out he was a fraud and a hypocrite was unthinkable.

"Something like this could shake what little stability we've managed to create in the past five years." He said quietly. Suddenly, he realized how callous that sounded. "Jade, honey I'm sorry. I'm worried about people being mad when I should be upset about how this hurts you."

A small smile graced her face and she squeezed his hand again. "I'll survive. The universe is not going to crumble because I got hurt. I won't either."

Wedge pulled her towards him and wrapped her in his arms. "I've been through every conceivable emotion tonight and now I'm just tired. I don't want to be rude, but I'm going to go and lie down if that's ok." She smiled a little as she felt him place a kiss to the top of her head and slid off the stool. Iella watched her as she left the room and fought to keep her anger under control for the umpteenth time that night. Looking over she found her husband watching  
her.

"She'll make it through this, because she has to. I'm more worried about Bela realizing she knows something and doing something about it." Iella told him as she crossed her arms in front of her and waited for him to say something. Over the years they had used each other as a sounding board for their respective jobs. They were both relegated the highest classification they could be given so there was never any issue with secrets being given out. Not that it would have stopped them anyway.

"My first instinct is to say he wouldn't do that, but now I think I agree. How are you going to handle this?" He asked.

"I don't know. I want to stash her someplace safe until we can get this taken care of, but that could take years."

"Plus she wouldn't stand for it." He added as an aside.

"That too." Iella pushed herself off the sink and walked over to him. Standing between his legs she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Right now, my brain hurts and I would just like to go to bed."

/____________________________________\

_Two days later…  
Security Director's Office_

"Don't shut me out of this case Iella. You know damn well how hard it will be to plant someone into Bela's office or the house to try and catch him in the act. I'm already there and while I'm not one of your agents, I can do the job."

"I don't like it." She told her friend.

"And I do? You don't have many other options. I'm not stupid and I don't have a death wish, so I'm not going to give myself away."

"Not on purpose, no. But what happens when you slip up and don't realize it? There's got to be another way." She said as she turned to her boss.

"I hate to say this, but she's right Iella. We don't have any options here that don't involve months of preparation and years of work." Belindi Kalenda sat behind her desk, her fingers steepled, racking her brains for an alternative. Over the past 45 minutes she hadn't been able to come up with one. She was just as reluctant as Iella to allow the ambassador to do this, but she was finding she had no choice.

"That does not mean, however, we are not going to use every resource possible to keep anything from happening to the ambassador while this investigation is going on. I want surveillance on the house all the time, inside and outside. Regular sweeps will have to be done to make sure that we don't inadvertently give away the upper hand we have at the moment. That shouldn't be a problem with the number of times the Senator is absent. I would also like to have you trained in some basic intelligence knowledge and practices Jade, if that is ok with you."

"I would welcome any help you can give me, Director." Belindi smiled at her response. She had never met the ambassador personally, but she was highly spoken of and it was obvious why.

"I want to make it clear, also, that you are not to recklessly put your life in danger. If at any time you feel uncomfortable or unable to protect yourself, I want you to say so immediately. I will pull you out and place you in a safe house without your consent if I must." She waited for the young woman's acknowledgement and nodded when she received it. "Good. Iella, I only want a few agents on this case for right now. Go ahead and put a team together and then let me know when you're ready to present all the information you have."


	6. Chapter 6

**Post 6**

_One day later…_

"We are gathered here today…Ow."

"Han, sit down."

"Did you have to hit me, sweetheart?" He asked rubbing his arm as the group chuckled. Everyone knew darn well that it hadn't hurt. Leia glared at him and he just smiled back.

"All right children. Calm down." Iella called from the top of the table. She set down her stack of flimsi's and picked up the stack of datapads that was sitting on a small console next to her. As she walked around the table to hand them out she started talking.

"You've all been briefed on the basics of this case so I won't go into that, at least not yet. This meeting is mainly to start a plan of action and give everyone their assignments." She finished as she regained her seat and gave them all a minute to look over what they had been given.

"All right, Suna and Chaz are the primary undercovers for this case." The pretty blonde from Adumar to Iella's left said nothing as she continued to puruse the info she had just been given. They had all seen the information in a more basic form before this meeting, but Suna liked to make sure about things. Chaz Kalar however, didn't need to look at the data pad. Being a Duros, everything Iella had showed him to this point was already floating around in his brain. Like most of his kind, he had a photographic memory, one of the many reasons he was an intelligence agent. "They will be shadowing the Senator on any of his trips."

To their left was seated a young, crimson-hued Twi'lek woman whom Iella had worked with on numerous occasions when dealing with slave rings. "Tee'ana has been working with her contacts to see if there is any information that we can get from the underground." The woman nodded but didn't say anything. Tee'ana Velos had been a slave girl on Tatooine under the hutts for most of her childhood. Instead of moaning and looking for pity, she had put the knowledge she had gained from that experience to good use in intelligence.

Next came Han and Leia at the other end of the table. "Han, I thought perhaps your smuggler history could help us. Especially if you still have some connections." He flashed a grin and Leia rolled her eyes. "And Leia, I need your help with the Senate because I don't even want to learn how to deal with that." Everyone laughed and Iella moved on.

Wedge sat between Leia and Iella and sent the latter a questioning look. "And my reason for being here?" He asked jokingly.

"You're cute." A voice from the corner piped up. Iella continued as if it hadn't spoken.

"Because you think outside the box so well and I think we'll need that." She retorted coyly. "Plus, you have good connections also."

Raxle Starseed was the next member of the team. Raxle was a human male from Tatooine who had actually ran a small slave ring with his father up until four years ago. He had fallen in love with a slave girl and when his father had found out she had been disposed of as a lesson. The young man had then left behind everything he had and came to Coruscant. He had ended up talking to the right person and was working in Intelligence not too long after.

"Raxle will be providing background information once we infiltrate the ring and help us take it down from the inside hopefully.

"All right, you've all had a chance to skim over the information again so let's…"

"Um, Mrs. Antillies I have a question." Wedge snickered beside her as she tried not to roll her eyes.

"Yes Han."

"What's Janson doing here?" Everyone turned to look at the man in question as he graced them with a smile and a wave from his seat in the corner. Iella sighed and turned back towards the table.

"He's here to give the group flavor."

"Don't you think there's enough flavor already?" Chaz asked quietly.

"I heard that Kalar."

"Yub yub Janson."

"Alright. Settle down. Let's go over what we know so far. Who wants to start?"

"I'll start." Chaz said quietly. "Bela Mnaa, senator for 9 years. Grew up on Aargau , where slave trading was a hot commodity. Only child of Merla and Higgins Mnaa. 39 years old. Joined the military on a local planet after he got done with basic school. Graduated in the top 15% of his class. Found he had a knack for politics and decided to run for Senator of his home planet. Won the post with a majority vote and moved here. Fought to stop slavery not only on his own planet but many others in the galaxy. Was successful almost every time and became one of the most popular Senators in the history of the Senate.."

Suna picked up the story. "A week ago, his wife Ambassador Jade Storm found a file on her computer that was not hers. She concluded that it was her husbands and when she found slave-trading information in the file she called Intelligence. Or at least Iella."

"The paper trail on Mnaa's said file only goes back seven years, but it is so well put together that he either has been doing it for much longer or has a partner. Probably uses his numerous Senatorial trips to cover any dealings so there is no suspicion." Wedge added.

"I would guess that his guards are also in on it, since they are not supposed to leave his side for any reason. Or at least some of them are and that puts his wife at risk as well. She has offered to work undercover and try to get more information that someone who isn't on the inside can get." Leia said as she continued the data stream they had started.

Han spoke next. "The prices listed in the file are high, so that would make me believe he deals in higher end clients which would make it more than worth his while. Would probably explain why he's kept doing it for so long too."

"You think he's in it for the money?" Iella asks.

"His family was very poor growing up, so it's not out of the realm of possibility." Chaz offered.

Han leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Money talks sister. I should know."

Iella turned to Raxle. "You have anything to offer?"

The young man shook his head. "Not yet. When we get some more information I will."

The intelligence agent nodded and then took a deep breath. "Ok. It's a start. I believe the senators next stop is Corellia after a few days home. When he does leave again, Suna and Chaz will be following him. We'll meet before he leaves. Any questions?"

/____________________________________\

_Three days later….  
Senator Mnaa's personal shuttle _

The senator leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes in weariness. The deal had been lucrative, but even after 20 years of doing this it still left a bad taste in his mouth. Though that didn't stop him, he was starting to wish something would.

He was eager to get home and make sure Jade was safe. His parting conversation with Shaw had left him uneasy.

_"I'm not doing this anymore Shaw." Bela was met with silence as he waited for the older man to say something. His head still looking down at the document before him, Shaw moved only his eyes to look up at the senator. He stared at him for a moment, then looked to be holding back his comment. Silently, he stood and directed his gaze at the man again._

"We've been over this before Bela. You're in too deep and there's no way you can get out. At least not alive." His voice was quiet, but the sharp edge made Bela shiver slightly. He had known this was not going to be easy. It was necessary though. Doing this was eating him up inside and he wasn't sure who he was anymore.

"I'm done." He simply stated.

Shaw just leered at him, then started to amble in his direction. Though his heart was pounding fiercely, Bela stood his ground. This had to end. He met the older man's eyes and the hard glint made him angry.

"You know, I'd hate for something to happen to that beautiful little wife of yours." Shaw whispered. Bela's eyes went wide and he clenched his jaw to keep from screaming. This wasn't the first time the slaver had threatened Jade. Every time Bela told him he wanted out, he did this. That didn't mean it couldn't make him angry. One thing that hadn't changed about him was his love for his wife. She was the main reason he wanted out. If she ever found out what he did, he would lose her. That was something he didn't want to comprehend.

"Even used she would bring a nice price." He goaded the man on and when Bela didn't say anything, he kept going. "You know that most buyers like it when they don't go willingly." Before the last word had even left his mouth, Shaw found himself on the ground a raging Bela over him. His jaw felt broken, but he smiled through the pain. It was worth it to get under the man's skin. He wasn't about to let him leave this business. Not when he brought him so much business. Plus the control he had over the powerful senator was like an aphrodisiac or a drug.

"Enough Shaw. I told you I'm done and if you ever come near Jade I'll kill you." The slaver watched Bela walk off and smiled to himself again.

"We'll see about that, Senator." 

Surely Shaw wasn't stupid enough to come after the wife of a prominent senator. He thought to himself.

/____________________________________\

"Ma'am?"

Jade looked up to see Jared pop his head in the door. She smiled at him and waved him in. "I'm almost done Jared. Give me a few more minutes. And stop calling me ma'am."

"Yes ma'am." Jared retorted and ducked out of the doorway as she sent something flying in his direction. A chuckle escaped him as he moved to look out the window of her office. Jared was her age, 32, and from Nyreen. They hadn't grown up together, but had become friends since he had applied for the job on her husband's guard. She and Bela had decided when she became ambassador they would just use his guard for both of them. It saved on costs and looked good to the people he served.

Jared had become more of a friend than a guard, especially since Bela was gone so much. She had a feeling Edward had assigned the young man to her guard detail because he really didn't like Jared. The Nyreenian was too happy for the security captain's liking. That and he always talked too much. Jade chuckled to herself. Those were the exact reasons she liked Jared.

Jade finished her last report and set it to the side of her desk so her aide could send it off in the morning. Rising from her seat she grabbed her coat from the chair and looked up to see Jared standing next to her holding her bag. She thanked him and grabbed it to follow him out of her office.

The trip home was quiet. Jared must have sensed that she didn't really want to talk because he didn't try to strike up a conversation like normal. She was thankful for that, as she found herself staring out the speeder window, lost in though.

It had been two months since Jade had found her husband's secret. Two months of acting like things were still the same. Two months of forwarding little bits of information to Iella and her team. She was surprised she still had her sanity. Her home, the place that had once been her refuge, was now the last place she wanted to be. She exited the speeder after it stopped and grabbed her bag out of the seat. Jared walked behind her as another guard met them at the front door. The only saving grace was that Bela was frequently out of town so he was gone for a week at a time, sometimes two. If she didn't have that time to be at peace she knew she would have been in trouble a long time ago.

It was quiet as she entered the house and made her way up to her office. The guard that had waited at the door followed her upstairs, but she paid him no mind. She was used to their presence by now. At one time they had made her feel safe. Now, she wasn't sure anything made her feel safe. That wasn't true. Jared was the only one she trusted now. She opened the door and set her bag down on one of the chairs. When she looked up, she gasped and stopped in her tracks.

"My love. I'm so glad you're home." Bela told her as he pulled her to him and brought his mouth to hers. She forced herself not to cringe and tried to remember how she had felt before all this had happened. What she sometimes still felt, though not as deeply. He pulled back from her and smiled.

"You're home early." She whispered.

"I wanted to surprise you. I got done earlier than I thought I would." He said as he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb down to her lips. She smiled and hoped it looked genuine. They had a pleasant dinner, as Bela talked about his trip with her and she relayed everything he had missed Senate wise during his absence.

They were sitting on the couch a few hours later, watching a movie when Jade sighed a little louder than she had intended.

"You ok?" Bela asked. She was leaning against his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her and she found that she could only nod. He seemed satisfied with her answer, and gave his attention back to the movie. Closing her eyes, she wished she could just climb into bed and forget about everything for a while. Stress wasn't a foreign thing to her, but she was finding it hard to function without her safety net. Bela had always been someone she had gone to with her troubles and now she was forced to deal with things on her own. Not that she wasn't capable, but it was so much easier when you had someone to share things with.

Finally, Jade couldn't take any more and made some excuse to go up to bed. She lay there a few hours later, Bela asleep beside her, trying not to think about what her husband had become. She tried to imagine the picture of her husband from before, but it was getting harder and harder to pretend.

Intelligence had gotten quite a bit of info on him so far, but all of it circumstantial. They hadn't found anything to charge him with that would stick. She fought a cringe as she felt him tighten his arm around her and took a deep breath. Determined to get some sleep, she forced herself to relax and finally did.

/____________________________________\

The following morning Jade woke up alone and sighed in relief. Slowly she rose and stepped into the fresher. Bela wanted her to make an appearance with him today. He was going to speak on a new bill he wanted to get passed and she usually went with him to those events. This would be a big rally today. Bigger than he had ever appeared at and even though she didn't want to go, she would. She had to see this through to the end.

An hour later, she was dressed in a long skirt and simple shirt and walked downstairs to grab something to eat before they left. Bela was in the kitchen and he smiled as she entered. She poured herself a cup of caf and he went back to watching the holonet. It was going to be a long day. Over the years she had learned that he wasn't trying to be mean when he ignored her like this. He was putting on his game face, as he liked to call it. Now she found herself thankful for his little ritual.

He sat close to her in the speeder and Jade closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. She had to keep up appearances. The Sludgenews would have a field day if she didn't look like the loving and devoted wife they always thought she was. Or had been at one time. She wasn't sure what she felt for Bela now. Disgust was at the top of her list. Jade was sure that somewhere in her heart she still loved her husband, but this was something she could never forgive. She tried to think about who she would be seeing tonight and her spirits raised instantly. Her father was on the planet and would be meeting them at the appearance. It had been a couple weeks since she had last seen him, but it was never often enough for her. She and Jake were always excited when his job brought him to Coruscant. Her brother wasn't going to be at the rally, but had promised to meet them later for dinner. The only one missing was her mother, but she hadn't been feeling well. Jade would just have to make the best of what she had at the moment.

Taking a deep breath as the speeder came to a stop at the side of the stage in the plaza, Jade put on her happy face and stepped out after her husband. The crowd was deafening as she smiled at some of the other senators that lined the steps to the podium. Again, she found herself wondering how many of these men had hidden secrets also. She hated how cynical her thoughts tended to become now, but she couldn't help them anymore than she could stop breathing. So she had learned to deal with them. Bela stopped at the row of chairs that were set up about ten feet behind the podium and leaned down to kiss Jade on the cheek. She kept her smile in place as he walked up and eventually got the crowd to quiet down.

Tuning out Bela's speech, she slowly raked her eyes over the crowd and again found her feelings torn. All of these people were here to hear him speak about his new proposals to stop the slave trade. If only they knew what a hypocrite he really was, they might not be cheering. Not for the first time, she wondered who Bela really was. Had he really been the man she thought she had married at one time? Or had his entire life been a lie? Jade turned her attention back to him and suddenly heard a popping sound. Reaching over to scratch her arm she felt something wet and when she looked down, a dark stain started to grow slowly on her sleeve. Another pop was heard and her right shoulder exploded into pain.

Before she could process what was happening one of the security guards tackled her to the ground and her breath caught in her throat as she landed on her right side. Pain blossomed from her shoulder and threatened to make her pass out. Another pop sounded and she felt another sting on her left temple. She reached up with her hand and found blood on her fingertips. Someone had shot at Bela and hit her.

She heard someone call her name through the fog that was taking over her brain and looked over to see Bela throwing one of his security officers off and crawling over to her. He pushed the guard off of her and she saw his face pale visibly as he took off his jacket and laid it over her. A groan escaped her lips as she took a deep breath. Bela pressed his hand against her temple and she knew he was speaking but she couldn't understand the words over the rushing in her ears.

Blackness started to creep in on the edges of her vision and she fought to stay awake. And lost.

/____________________________________\

"Mom, are you sure you don't want some help?" Myri asked for the fifth time. Iella snickered to herself and shook her head as she took the nerf roast out and set it on the platter. Jake must really be getting under her skin today if she was asking to help in the kitchen.

"No honey. I'm good. But thank you for asking." She could picture her youngest daughter stomping back to the living room rolling her eyes in disgust. One of these days those two were going to stop annoying each other and realize they actually liked one another. Until then it did provide some good entertainment for the rest of the family.

At least once a month everyone got together and had dinner at someone's house. Last month it had been the Solo's. This month it was the Antilles residence. Iella didn't mind since she didn't really have an opportunity to cook anymore. Plus, her girls were home which was always a blessing to her. The only person that would be missing today was Jade, but she had an appearance with Bela. She stopped for a moment as she thought about her friend and felt a shiver run down her spine. Any day now she kept hoping they would find the big one on the senator so Jade could start getting her life back in order.

Loud laughter from the other room brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled. It was always noisy when the old folks got together. That's what their children called them. She busied herself getting things finished and had just reached up into a cabinet to get a bowl for the vegetables out when a newsflash came across the holonet. She always turned it on when she was cooking for background noise. Iella turned around to see what the news was and froze.

"To repeat, there has just been a shooting at the Senate rally today. We're trying to confirm who, if anyone, has been hit but so far we are getting nothing from authorities." While the reporter repeated the information they didn't have over and over again, the footage of the shooting started showing. Iella frantically tried to find Jade after the shots were heard, but the camera hadn't been focusing on her. Bela had been the one to call the rally and naturally he was the one everyone was concerned about.

"Wait, I've just gotten confirmation that one person was hit. It looks like senator Mnaa's wife, ambassador Storm was hit. We are not sure how many times or how serious the injury is but as soon as we know we will be sure to tell you. "Again, there was a shooting at the senatorial rally today…."

Iella didn't feel the dish slip from her hands. Nor did she hear the subsequent crash or the sound of her husband running into the room. Wedge carefully stepped around the shards of the dish and pulled Iella over to the side. She couldn't take her eyes off the holonet as they looped the shooting over and over again.

"Ella?" When she wouldn't answer him he finally looked to see what had upset her. The scrolling words on the bottom of the screen made him curse loudly and pulled her from the room and into the hall.

"Sweetie, I'm sure she's ok." He murmured as he pulled her into his arms and felt her relax against him. Wedge was trying to keep her calm as he felt anything but that himself.

"I never should have let her do this Wedge. If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself." Her muffled voice sounded from his chest. Neither one of them heard Jake and Myri come up behind them.

"Dad. Is everything ok?" She asked tentatively.

He turned his head to look at his daughter then transferred his gaze to Jake. Wedge liked the boy, a lot. Not only was he a damn good pilot but he had become like family since the Storm kids had come into their lives. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"There was a shooting at the rally." He saw Jake stiffen and gave himself a mental smile as he saw Myri reach for the young man's hand. "Your sister was injured Jake." Before he could even finish, the pilot had turned to run back down the hall and presumably, out the door. He looked back at his daughter and sighed.

"I need to go down there." Iella said, as she raised her head off his chest. He looked down at his wife and saw the tears in her eyes. "I need to know she's ok." Wedge nodded and moved to go and get his keys. Myri walked over to hug her mom.

"I'll take care of everything here." Myri told her as Iella hugged her daughter back and smiled.

She started as she felt her husband's hand on her arm and kissed Myri on the forehead. "Thank you honey." Then they left.

/____________________________________\

"Face it Durron, I kicked your butt. The sooner you admit it, the sooner I can start celebrating."

Kyp shook his head at Jaina as she walked a few feet in front of him. He was never going to live this down, at least from her. They walked quietly down a hallway at the temple and Jaina slowed as they approached the nearest common room. The Viewer was so loud you could hear it down the hall.

"In case you are just joining us, here is the breaking news. There was a shooting today at the Senate rally in Celebration Plaza." The room was mostly filled with teenage students, but Kyp looked over and saw Jag leaning against one of the back walls and made his way over to him. Jaina silently followed, her eyes still on the broadcast.

Jag looked up and dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Which senator was injured?" He asked the former Chiss commander.

"None."

"Damn." Kyp responded, jokingly. He turned to watch the broadcast and was confused when a picture of Ambassador Storm popped up behind the reporter.

"Ambassador Storm's condition has not been commented on, but sources say she was hit three times. We don't know how serious or where. One person did say they saw blood on the ambassador's head, but that has not been confirmed."

"Wow." Kyp heard Jaina whisper from beside him. He frowned and turned to her.

"Isn't that Jake Storm's sister?" She nodded in response and he whistled.

"Yeah. I've never met her but he's ultra-protective. I'm sure he's not taking this well." Jaina added quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Post 7**

Michael Storm stood, in his daughter's room and watched her sleep. She had spent about five hours in a bacta tank and was now in a secure room at the med center. Jade had woken briefly when they had taken her out, but had fallen back asleep as soon as her head hit the bed. She was exhausted and he wanted to know why. It wasn't just the shooting, though he was sure that didn't help. He had seen it in her eyes for the last couple of weeks but hadn't said  
anything. Her job was stressful so he just assumed that was the cause. Now he wasn't so sure.

Jake had left to talk to his connections and see if he could find out any information. His son had needed something to do besides standing around waiting for things to happen. The joys of being a fighter pilot. Michael thought. The senator has left only minutes ago at Michael's insistence. He had ordered him to go home and get some rest as the man was obviously distraught and wouldn't do any good to anyone here. One of them might as well get some sleep.

He had called his wife after they had put her in the bacta to tell her what had happened. He hadn't wanted her to find out over the holonet. Funny, he had always thought he would be calling his wife about their son, not their daughter. After assuring her that Jade was fine, he had promised to call her if he heard anything or when she woke up. Michael sat down on a couch close to the bed and rested his head in his hands. He didn't want to think about how  
close he might have come to losing her today. They hadn't caught the shooter, but whoever it was had been sending a warning in his opinion.

The door opened and he raised his eyes as a woman walked in the door. She wasn't dressed as a nurse, which was whom he had expected to see. Her gaze lingered on Jade and suddenly it clicked in his head.

"Iella?" He asked.

She turned her gaze to him and smiled softly. Walking over, she sat next to him and returned her gaze back to Jade.

"How is she?" She asked quietly.

"She got out of the bacta a little while ago. They said she would be fine though."

She nodded and looked as if she wanted to say more.

"What is it?" He asked. It was easy to see where Jade got her directness from.

"How well do you know Bela?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion at her question. He knew from what his children had told him that Iella worked in Intelligence, but he had thought she was here as a friend. Not working. Why would she be asking about Bela?

"I've known him for seven years. As long as Jade has. Why?"

"Two months ago, Jade found something on her data system." She began. Quietly she recounted the story for him, not pausing to let him comment. He probably wouldn't have been able to anyway. He closed his eyes and was now glad he had sent Bela home. He might not have been able to resist hurting his son-in-law at the moment. The man he had handed his little girl over to was nothing more than a criminal and a horrible human being.

Iella was quiet as he digested all the information she had just told him. She knew from the siblings' descriptions of their father, and from what she had heard through other avenues, that he was a trustworthy and reliable man. Telling him was a huge breach of policy but she wanted someone in Jade's family to know. She couldn't tell Jake because he would take matters into his own hands. He was an excellent pilot, but was extremely protective of his little  
sister.

"You think she was the target?" He asked as he broke the silence.

Iella nodded and he groaned quietly.

"You don't have enough to arrest him." He commented dryly.

"No. Not yet."

"She needs more protection. From him."

"I know. I'm going to get it for her tomorrow." Iella told him. "I just wanted you to know what was going on. She needs someone besides me to talk to."

Michael nodded. "Thank you."

They were quiet for a few moments before Iella spoke again.

"You're not going to demand I pull her from the investigation?"

The governor smiled. "Even if I would, you actually think she would do it?"

Iella laughed. "Nope."

/____________________________________\

Jared sat outside Jade's hospital room and tried to corral his thoughts. The one day he hadn't been around her and this happened. Edward had pulled him to watch the stupid security cameras today for no reason. Now he was wondering if the shooting was the reason. Not that him being there would have stopped it, he wasn't that egotistical. But he couldn't help thinking that maybe he would have seen something that might have helped.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Governor Storm walked out of his daughter's room. Jared stood without thinking and was surprised when Michael walked over and sat down in the chair next to his. Of course he had met the governor on several occasions, but wasn't exactly on a first name basis with him. Nervously, he retook his seat and opened his mouth to speak.

"She's fine Jared."

Closing his eyes, the young man slouched in his chair and sighed. "Thank you, sir."

He felt, rather than saw the governor nod next to him. Opening his eyes he looked over and found the man staring at Jade's door. Edward had tried calling him a handful of times, but he hadn't answered his comm. He was more worried about how Jade was than what that son of a Hutt had to say.

"Go home and get some sleep son." Michael told him quietly, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"If it's all the same to you sir, I'd like to stay here. Just to make sure."

Jade's father nodded and stood to walk back into the room, leaving Jared alone with his thoughts once again.

/____________________________________\

_Jedi Temple – Coruscant  
Two days after shooting _

"So, is there a particular reason you haven't come over lately?"

Kyp and Jaina were sitting in the mess hall of the temple, after one of their weekly sparring matches. The master was leaning back in his chair, his feet up in the one next to Jaina as she sat across from him. She popped a piece of fruit in her mouth as she tried to think of a good excuse for him.

"I was over this morning, Kyp."

"To pick me up. For breakfast."

"I was still there." She said defensively as Kyp felt her ire rise. This game was getting really old for him. It didn't matter how he approached the subject with her, she always had an excuse. Even if it was lame. She was avoiding Jag, plain and simple. And he, Kyp, was getting tired of it.

"Jaina." He growled at her.

She started to say something when Kyp's comm trilled. Looking up at him, she unsuccessfully kept the smile from her face. "Saved by the comm." She said quietly.

"Durron." He answered as he frowned at the woman across from him.

"Kyp, can you come to my office please."

"Sure Luke. I'll be right there." He closed the channel and stood. "We're not done with this discussion young lady."

Kyp walked down the hall towards Luke's office and sighed. Luke had arrived a few days ago, like he always did, to take care of any business he couldn't from Ossus. He and Coran had already briefed him on what he needed to know and he knew this wasn't a social call. So what the hell did he need to see him for? Guess he would find out soon enough.

He got to the door and walked through since it was open already. Luke sat behind his desk reading something when he looked up and motioned Kyp forward. Sitting in one of the two seats in front of the desk, the master tried not to cringe as he nodded at the other person occupying the seat next to him.

Iella Antilles returned his nod and turned her attention back to Luke. He knew neither the intelligence officer nor her husband held any regard for Kyp. They were civil towards each other, but pretty much stayed out of the same circles and out of each others' way. He was confused as to why she was here. Actually, he was just confused in general.

Luke set the data pad down and looked up at Kyp. He smiled slightly. This was not good.

"I have an assignment I would like you to take."

Kyp raised an eyebrow at the Grand Master. He hadn't said that I want to offer you. He had just politely voluntold him. "Ok."

"Intelligence is working on a major case right now and one of our informants is in need of some protection." Iella told him as he shifted his attention to her.

"What kind of protection? I'm a little well known, so I'm not sure how I could help with one of your cases." Kyp asked cautiously.

"We have found a major slave trading ring and instead of pulling our informant out at this stage in the investigation it has been decided to give her a little help." She handed Kyp a data pad and waited patiently while he looked at it.

"Senator Mnaa's wife?" Iella nodded and he moved back to the info. "Who does she need protection against?"

"Her husband."

Kyp's head shot up at her statement and he was sure the shock was written all over his face. Senator Bela Mnaa was one of the most popular, if not vocal, members of the senate. To hear he was under investigation for being involved in slave trading was surprising to say the least. Iella cleared her throat and continued.

"Jade doesn't want to quit at this stage of the game but I'm worried that she won't be able to gather information and watch her back at the same time. She's more than capable of doing this job, but keeping up the façade is starting to wear on her. I'm afraid she's going to get careless and something is going to happen. That's where you come in."

"So that's what the attack on her was about. It wasn't someone trying to get to the senator. They got who they were aiming for, didn't they?" He asked.

"That's what we're thinking. And while she isn't helpless, she's far from an expert when it comes to this stuff." Luke interjected. "She just needs someone to shadow her when she's in public and especially when the senator is gone. You would be staying at the mansion in order to make it easier." He added.

The three sat in silence as Kyp digested the information. Guess you should be careful what you ask for. He told himself mentally. This had to be pretty serious if intelligence was asking the Jedi to help and Luke was offering.

"Are you giving me a choice in taking this or not?" Kyp asked.

Luke nodded, although it was obvious he did so reluctantly.

Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. Babysitting it is. He thought to himself.

"I'll do it."

/____________________________________\

Iella watched as the two Jedi sat and hammered out the details of exactly what Kyp's job was going to entail. He would escort Jade to all her ambassador meetings, functions, etc. There were already guards on the grounds to protect the Senator so Kyp was going to need to work with them to make sure they had all the bases covered, but he was the primary line of defense for her.

"Kyp."

"Yeah?" He answered, as he looked up at Iella.

"I know that we haven't always gotten along." She paused, uncertain how to proceed. Kyp nodded and that seemed to help her continue.

"Jade is a very important person to me and my family. Please don't let anything happen to her."

He stared at her for a moment then nodded. "I won't." And she felt that he meant it.

/____________________________________\


	8. Chapter 8

**Post 8**

Two hours later, Kyp followed Iella down a hall in the senate building and wondered again what he had gotten himself into. The force was telling him he had done the right thing in taking on this task. That wasn't the issue. He actually wasn't sure what the issue was, but something made him uneasy about the situation.

They turned the corner and he realized he had never been in this area of the building before. It had taken a year to build the new Senate Building on Coruscant and while it wasn't as ornate as the previous one, it was still impressive. Most of the building in the surrounding area had been knocked down and not rebuilt. They had wanted the building to be the center of attention in the city. Its smooth, white stone shone brilliantly in the sunlight and glowed even at night as the lights of the buildings bounced off of it. It was only about 10 stories high but ran about five stories underground. Of course the center of the building held the enormous senate chamber with offices found on one side of the building and meeting rooms on the other.

Iella slowed as she approached one of the lifts that serviced the building and he saw a trio of people in their path. The two men were very similar in appearance and Kyp thought they could easily be mistaken for duracrete walls. They wore black pants and black jackets with a black shirt on their obviously muscular frames. Each of them wore a pair of dark glasses and he could see a bulge in their jackets where their blasters hung. Even though he couldn't see their  
eyes, he could feel them watching as he and Iella approach.

They stopped a foot or so away and Kyp took the opportunity to study the ambassador. He had seen her on the holonet of course. Her husband got plenty of screen time. Before she had become ambassador four years ago she had traveled with her husband quite a bit. Seeing her up close, he thought that the holonet didn't do her justice.

She was rather tall for a woman, the top of her head coming up a bit past his shoulder. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a single braid, as it had been most of the times he had seen her before. She had full, pink tinted lips that were currently pulled up into a smile. A small trail of freckles also dotted her nose and when he finally looked into her eyes he swore he had never seen that color before. At least not in someone's eyes and he could easily imagine getting lost in her aquamarine tinted gaze.

Where in the sith did that thought come from?! He said to himself.

"Jade," Iella started, pulling him out of his rare daydream. "I'd like you to meet…"

"Master Durron. It's a pleasure to meet you." She interrupted as she held her hand out to Kyp. He took her hand and was surprised at how strong her grip was. Of course he had a feeling that the ambassador was going to be full of surprises, which could be good or bad.

"I'm flattered you recognized me." He told her.

"I may be a busy woman Master Durron, but I assure you I like to know what is going on around me." She joked.

"Grand Master Skywalker has assigned Kyp to be your guard Jade." Iella informed her.

"Ah. Nothing better to do, huh?"

Kyp chuckled and he felt Iella and the guards' agitation at her comment. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Not waiting for his response, the ambassador turned to her two guards.

"Gentlemen, I believe that Master Durron can handle things from here. You can return to the house and I will call for the speeder later."

Both men nodded then transferred their gazes to Kyp. He nodded to them also and tried not to roll his eyes as they disappeared down the hall. He could feel their relief at being dismissed. Was that because they were just apathetic in general or were they just glad to be away from her?

"Jade, please promise me that you won't do anything stupid." He heard Iella say as he turned back around to them. The younger woman smiled.

"I can't promise that, but I will try to behave and listen to Master Durron." She replied as she hugged her friend.

Iella turned to walk down the hall and gave Kyp a "She better stay safe" look.

"I love Iella to death, but she's so over protective sometimes." Jade told him as she started towards the lift. Kyp followed wordlessly and wondered where they were going.

"I have a meeting with a senator about supporting his wish to decrease the military budget." She said suddenly.

He looked at her surprised, and she laughed. She was force sensitive!

"Well, either that or you're having a conversation with yourself." Came the ambassador's reply as he felt her amusement through the force.

Kyp snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time." He replied.

She laughed again and he felt it rush past him like the wind. So much so that he actually shivered. Maybe he'd been alone for so long that he was starting to imagine things. He just shook his head slightly and chalked it up to being swept up into this whole situation so quickly. After he had been called to Luke's office, things had happened rather quickly.

"Hopefully this meeting won't take very long. I don't plan on supporting the senator's plan, Master Durron." Jade interrupted, breaking into his thoughts.

"Kyp."

She looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Please call me Kyp. Master Durron makes me feel old. I don't need any reminders of my age." He told her with a grin.

"All right. Then you can call me Jade."

"Fair enough." He told her as the doors opened and they walked out.

/____________________________________\

"Senator Iall, I agree that it would be rude to insult the Almanians but I can't, in good conscious, go along with this plan." Jade told the man. She was trying to keep her temper in check, but Kyp could feel it spike every once in a while. The meeting had been going on for an hour so far and, from his vantage point in the corner, Kyp finally understood why he hated politics.

"You claim to be a peaceful planet, ambassador, but you won't agree with the proposal?" The aging senator from Ison shot back at her. Ison was a relatively new planet to join the senate and little was known about it. The humanoids that inhabited the planet were fast becoming known for being instigators. Kyp could see why. The representative from Almania hadn't said a word the entire time. He wouldn't be surprised if he had been coerced into this whole meeting.

The ambassador was handling herself quite well though. She sat with her back straight and her attention fully on the two men across from her. Her hands were folded together in front of her and she appeared calm to a casual onlooker. No fidgeting, no squirming. She was good at this.

"We are a peaceful planet, but I'm not going to ask the governors to cut back on the military budget just so a planet that is half-way across the galaxy from us doesn't feel threatened. Have you asked any of their neighboring planets to do the same?"

"Yes, and they refuse. Your planet has refused to join with the Almanians and they want assurances that you won't attack them in the future."

"Why would we attack them? They have nothing that we need. They have asked for help from the senate and it is being supplied. I don't understand why you are pursuing this Senator. What do you hope to gain from this?" Jade asked calmly.

Point for the ambassador. Kyp thought. He fought to keep the smile from his face as he watched Iall try to find an answer. After a moment of silence, Jade sighed and stood.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot help you with your request. Have a good day gentlemen." Jade nodded to both men, then turned to leave the room. Kyp quietly followed her.

"Are your meetings always that much fun?" He asked as they walked down the hall from the meeting room towards a lift.

Jade sighed. "Some of them are. That one was more painful than most. I feel like I've been banging my head against the wall for the last hour."

Kyp chuckled and pushed the button to call the lift. He was finding himself very comfortable around her and for some reason that bothered him. Jade reached into her pocket and called the speeder to meet them down in front of the building.

They didn't speak as they walked to the rest of the way out of the building or as they climbed into the speeder. The driver shut the door behind them and then climbed into the front, never speaking.

He sat across from her and watched as she rolled her neck to work the kinks out of it. Leaning back into the seat she closed her eyes and sighed. "I've instructed Edward that you need to meet with him when we get back to the house." She said quietly.

"Edward?"

"He's in charge of the guards at the house. They're actually my husband's guards, but they work double duty." Kyp nodded and started to think of what he needed to talk about when he met Edward. There were quite a few things they had to discuss.

"Would it be all right if I sat in while you talked to him?" She asked.

"I don't have a problem with it. Can I ask why though?" He said as he turned his gaze from the view outside back to her.

Jade lifted her head up and looked at him. "I hate not knowing what's going on."

Kyp nodded and she smiled.

"How do you do that?" He asked a few minutes later.

"Do what?" She retorted as she looked over something on a data pad.

"Sit there and actually keep your sanity and a straight face through a meeting like that? That had to be the stupidest reason for a meeting that I think I've ever heard. And believe me, I've heard some bad ones." He mumbled.

"You get used to it. They're not all like that. For every ten you have like that, there's one where you really make a difference, or start a chain reaction that evolves into something good." She smiled lightly, as she started out the window. "That's when I know why I'm doing this."

/____________________________________\

Edward was an older man who, though he was grayed at his temples, still looked to be in shape. If you considered round to be a shape. He might even be able to give Jabba the Hutt a run for his money. Not for the first time, Kyp would wonder why the Senator had chosen the man to run his security.

He forced himself to focus on what the man was saying. He knew that Iella had given him information on all the guards that worked at the mansion, but he hadn't had time to look through all of it yet. He could do that later.

They sat at the kitchen table as Jade poured them some caf and placed a plate of cookies on the table. She sat down next to Kyp and was quiet as the two men talked.

"Is her schedule made public?" Kyp asked.

Edward nodded and Kyp shook his head. "That's going to have to change."

"As ambassador, she makes her schedule public to show she has nothing to hide." Edward countered.

"Well, she has something to hide now; herself. The last thing I need is to worry about everyone on the planet knowing where she is going to be. Is there a way we can print a fake schedule or no schedule at all?"

Edward took a deep breath and looked to Jade. She nodded.

"I'll get that taken care of." He told the Jedi.

"We also need to decide how the protection should work when the senator is home. I don't want to step on any toes, but I also need to know that she is covered at all times. To make it easier, I would like to be her primary defense."

"That would free my men up. I have no problem with that. You might want to talk to the senator about it though."

Kyp frowned at the man. "The senator doesn't really have a say in it." He responded, trying to keep the harshness out of his voice. "He'll just have to learn how to deal with it."

/____________________________________\

Kyp's things had been sent over earlier in the day so when Jade showed him to his room, it was sitting on his bed waiting. The room was done in creams and beige's and had the basic things that a room needed. He sat down on the full size bed and resisted the urge to fall back on it and sleep.

"The master bedroom is right next door." She told him as he rubbed his face to try and wake up. He noticed that she hadn't called it my room or mine and Bela's room. Interesting. "I can have something made for dinner and brought up to you if you'd like to rest."

He smiled. "That would be nice, if it's not much trouble."

"Not at all. When Bela's not here I don't usually eat a big dinner. I usually just end up in my office working or something." She watched him as he unpacked his bag and put things away. It didn't take him long since as a Jedi he traveled light. He felt she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to, so he waited.

"I want to thank you." She told him quietly.

Kyp looked over at her and frowned. "I haven't done anything yet." Jade chuckled and shifted on her feet.

"I'm not the kind of person who asks for help. Not even with my family." She told him. He leaned against the dresser and crossed his arms in front of him, eyeing her critically. That surprised him, at least with the opinion he had formed of her so far.

"I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your help." She told him and smiled.

"You're very welcome." He responded.

"I'll have someone bring you something to eat." Then she was gone. Kyp stood there for a few minutes just staring at the door she had disappeared through. He needed to go over the notes that Iella had given him tonight. It would make things a lot easier at least, even though there wasn't much to go on. He sat on the bed and proceeded to take his boots off. Grabbing a change of clothes, he walked into the fresher and decided that he needed a shower. It seemed like he always thought better there.

Turning the water on to hot, he stripped out of his robes and grabbed a towel from the rack on the back of the door. He threw it over the top of the shower, and stepped in. Standing under the water, Kyp leaned against the tiled wall and felt the stiffness slowly seep out of his muscles. He felt old today and he hated that.

What made a man trade slaves? He knew the basics about Bela Mnaa. Knew the kind of background he came from and what kind of senator he was. Mnaa was universally liked by everyone and seemed extremely sincere. Kyp had heard more people talk good about him than bad. But how did a man who came from humble beginnings suddenly end up keeping down the very kind of people he used to relate with?

Money was powerful, but Mnaa didn't seem like the kind of person to be pushed around easily. He guessed blackmail was one option. Who was crazy or powerful enough to blackmail someone like the senator though? It just didn't make any sense. They needed more information.

"You can't solve the case in one day Durron. Even you're not that good." He joked to himself as he finished in the shower and toweled himself off. Wrapping it around his waist he walked back out into the room and the smell of food hit him. On the dresser was a plate with a sandwich and a drink. The sandwich just happened to be the size of his head. Well, maybe not that big but it wasn't small either. Reaching over he grabbed the sandwich and took a bite as he walked over and pulled out a pair of sleep pants to put on. Apparently, he was hungry because by the time he had put on a shirt he was finished with it. The least he could do was take the plate back downstairs to the kitchen. He drank the glass of water as he walked. As he set the dishes in the sink he heard talking from the living room. Kyp walked over and saw the holovid on, a chuckle escaping him as he realized it was a Wynessa Starflare movie. When he made it over to the couch he started to say something and  
he realized she was asleep.

A data pad was resting on her stomach and Kyp had to smile to himself. Pulling the blanket off the back of the couch, he covered her up and set the data pad on a side table, then went back up to his room to fall asleep himself.

/____________________________________\


	9. Chapter 9

**Post 9**

Jade and her brother were sitting at the kitchen table the next morning when Kyp came downstairs. He started to back out but she stopped him.

"Kyp, you're welcome to join us."

"I don't want to intrude." He said, not moving from the doorway.

"You're not. Please, I made more than enough. Even with the rancor here." Jade joked as she rose to get another plate and glass for him. Her brother threw his napkin in her direction as Kyp crossed the room and sat down. Kyp didn't know too much about Jake Storm. What information he did know he had heard from Jaina and a few of the senior military officials. The man was second in command of Rogue Squadron and apparently had made quite a name for himself before he and Jade had even come to the Known Regions. He had heard nothing but praise for the young man from everyone he talked to.

Kyp helped himself to the food that was in the middle of the table as he felt Jake eye him. He looked up and the pilot smiled. "So, you're the lucky one that gets to baby sit ole bad ass here."

The master raised an eyebrow. "Bad ass?" He looked over to Jade and she rolled her eyes.

"When I got the position, he took me out to celebrate and had a little too much to drink. He couldn't say ambassador by the end of the night so he just called me bad ass." She told him with a shake of her head.

"It's close." Jake scoffed.

"It is?" Kyp asked.

"Ambassador. Bassador. Bad ass. It's close enough." He said as he cleared his dishes off the table.

"Brothers. Gotta love them." Jade quipped. Kyp laughed and returned to eating his breakfast. Jake came back to the table and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll call you later." He told her. Kyp looked up and the younger man stared at him for a moment then nodded. Nodding back slowly, Kyp chuckled as the pilot walked out of the room. How many people was he going to have to answer to with this assignment? Iella was going to be the least of his worries at this point. He finished his meal in silence and Jade sat next to him reading something on her datapad. After a few minutes she put it down on the table and took a deep breath.

"Bela is supposed to come home today." She told him simply.

"Anything I should be concerned about? Besides the obvious." He amended quickly.

"Not that I know of. I assume Ella has given you all the information they have as of now."

Kyp affirmed his answer as she took his plates and set them in the sink. Jade gripped the edge of the sink and looked out the window. "I've skimmed over most of it. I'll read it more in depth later. Does he know about me?" He asked.

Jade turned around to face him and leaned against the counter. She loosely crossed her arms in front of her and gave him a weak smile. "You know about the shooting." Kyp nodded and she continued. "My father insisted that I get some sort of private protection, outside of the senatorial guards. Bela adamantly refused. I'm not sure if it was his pride or his secret he was trying to keep. Edward agreed with my father. Surprisingly, Bela left it to me to find someone to fill the job. Of course, I turned to Ella."

"Makes sense. So he could either be royally pissed or not care at all." Kyp offered.

"Yep." Walking back over to the table she sat down and took a drink of her caf. "I can't help but think that by leaving it up to me to find protection he was hoping I would pick someone who couldn't do the job." She looked up to meet his gaze.

"You think he ordered the shooting." It wasn't a question.

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to think. I never imagined my husband could be involved in the selling of slaves, let alone trying to have me killed. Even after two months I'm not sure how I feel." She told him quietly. "I'm not sure I'll ever know."

"Even good people get caught up in bad things." Kyp told her. She looked up and graced him with a smile.

"That they do." Standing, she collected her datapad and some papers. "I just wanted to warn you."

"I appreciate that." He told her. "If I'm gonna have my ass handed to me I at least like a little warning."

/____________________________________\

Since Jade didn't have any meetings today, Kyp took her up on the offer to familiarize him with the grounds. Intelligence had given him a rough map of them, but he wanted to inspect them personally. She started the tour in the house.

"There are six rooms, but two have been converted into offices. One for me and one for Bela. Two are guest bedrooms and the other is a rec room." She told him as they walked down the hall towards the back door.

It was a cloudy morning, and a light drizzle greeted them as they exited the house and started their walk. Right outside the back door there was a small seating area that was not very open. Probably due to security more than privacy would be his guess. There were a few trees that dotted the yard but they weren't more than 20 feet from the house. Another security issue. He could see the numerous cameras that were mounted on the house and on poles spaced so far apart around the entire perimeter.

"Who has access to the cameras?" He asked as she turned and looked at one of them.

"Edward, Bela and myself. The rest of the guards can watch them but they can't manipulate any of the footage."

Kyp nodded and continued his perusal of the yard.

"You don't have to worry about bugs either. Iella comes and sweeps periodically and we haven't found any so far. Unless he's using some new technology that we don't have."

"I doubt it. He would have made some sort of move on you or intelligence by now if that were the case." Kyp commented.

"Maybe he did." She told him quietly.

He turned to look at her and shook his head. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling he didn't order that."

"Jedi feeling?" She asked with a smile in her voice.

He chuckled. "Maybe. Something about that just doesn't feel right. I stopped trying to figure it out. I just hope I have an epiphany before I have an aneurysm."

They entered the house 20 minutes later laughing when Kyp looked up and found the senator staring at them. His gaze was calm and he didn't feel any hatred or anger emanating from the man. Actually, he didn't feel anything. The man was there, but his emotions were so tightly controlled he could have been looking at a robot if he didn't know better. He was about Kyp's height and that's where the similarities ended. Where Kyp was built like a pilot, lean and toned, Bela was built like a rock. He was extremely muscular and bulky. His sandy brown hair was military short and his piercing blue eyes betrayed no emotions.

Kyp stood where they had stopped and watched as Jade walked over to her husband and was greeted with a hug and a kiss. She was definitely keeping up the happy wife bit, but it was the twinge in his chest that bothered him. Not having the time to delve too deep into his psyche, he refocused his attention on the couple across from him.

"Sha wasn't sure when you were going to be back." He heard her tell Bela. Sha Moonwood was Bela's assistant, that much he remembered from his information. "I was just showing Master Durron around the house."

Bela smiled at his wife, affection obvious in his eyes, and then returned his gaze back to Kyp. The senator held his hand out to shake and Kyp obliged him.

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit, Master Jedi." Bela asked.

"I've been assigned to be your wife's security detail, sir." Kyp offered before Jade could say anything.

The senator frowned in confusion. "Assigned by whom?" He asked politely. Kyp still didn't feel anything from the man. Either he was force sensitive or he had been trained to shield his thoughts by someone who was.

"Dad asked for a Jedi to be assigned to me, Bela." He turned to his wife and smiled at her again. Iella had told Kyp in the briefing that Michael Storm had offered to be the scapegoat for the Jedi being called into the picture. They had hoped that this would remove any suspicion from Jade. Kyp had agreed with the idea.

"I see. And you're okay with this sweetheart?" Jade nodded at his question and he kissed her forehead. "Good. I have to admit that does make me feel a lot better about leaving you here by yourself." He said as he stepped out of his wife's arms and walked towards the kitchen.

Jade and Kyp shared a look and she followed her husband. Kyp stood there watching as she followed him into the other room.

"First obstacle cleared." He mumbled to himself. "Five million more to go."

/____________________________________\

Jaina hit the chime on the door and waited impatiently for someone to answer. Kyp had never come back to the temple yesterday after his meeting with Luke and she was extremely curious as to where he had gone. Tapping her foot, she crossed her arms in front of her and was thinking about opening the door her self when someone finally did. However, it wasn't the person she wanted to see.

Huffing to herself, she mumbled 'never mind' when she saw Jag and started off down the hall.

"Hey!" Jag called after her and for some reason she stopped. She turned around to face him, putting her hand on her hips and glaring.

"What."

"Well, good evening to you too, sunshine. I assume you're looking for Kyp." Jag said, as he leaned against the doorframe, watching her with amusement.

"I was." She retorted.

"For Force sake, Jaina, why do you have to be so contrary. Come in here." Rolling his eyes, he walked back into the room, as if he expected her to follow. She stood motionless in the hall, feeling the urge to simply turn around and go back to stomping down the hall in anger. But something stopped her. Wordlessly, she walked back to the doorway and into the apartment. Jag had sat down on the couch, apparently resuming whatever he had been working on before she had interruped him. The door swooshed closed behind her, but she still stood like a sentry by it. Jag waited a moment, then looked over at her.

"Sit." He told her as he nodded towards the chair next to him. Surprisingly, she did as he commanded and he found himself having to hold back his laughter. She was wound up tight today.

"I'm guessing Kyp didn't have a chance to fill you in on what happened with Luke?" Jag asked as he continued with whatever he was doing on the datapad. She nodded and he smiled.

"In his defense, he really didn't have a lot of time. He told me the basics while he was packing."

"Packing? To go where?" Jaina's voice was now tinged with concern and he felt her start to relax.

Setting the datapad down on the table, Jag leaned back into the couch and met her gaze. "He's been assigned as protection for Ambassador Storm."

"You're kidding me?"

Jag chuckled. "That's what I said. Apparently, he is to be her guard around the clock, so he's staying at the Mnaa residence for the time being. He wasn't sure how long it was going to last, but he was guessing a while."

"Why him?"

"That, is a good question." Jag responded. "I asked him that myself, but he didn't really have an answer. Actually, I think he did, but he just couldn't say anything. I have a feeling there is more to this than what he said."

"That's just strange. She and her husband already have guards." She was talking more to herself now than him, but he responded anyway.

"Yeah, and they worked so well when she was shot." He said sarcastically. Jaina gave him a small smile and he felt his heart thump a little harder. He had always loved her smile, probably because she didn't use it nearly enough. He had thought that after everything she had been through in the last 10 years at least, that she would finally be able to find some peace. Jag was starting to think she wasn't allowing herself any peace, but he had been reluctant to say that to her.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to have a jedi around in that case." She said, breaking into his thoughts. He nodded, but didn't say anything. Right now, he was just happy to have her sitting in the same area and not biting his head off. It was a rare occurrence these days and he intended to take advantage of it. She was dressed in her flight suit today, which meant she had been working over at the academy with some of the new pilots. Sometimes he envied her that she still got to fly, but he honestly liked what he was doing. Every once in a while he and his uncle would go jump in the simulators just to let off some steam, but it wasn't the same.

"Jag?" He looked up and found her staring at him.

"Sorry, took a little trip there." He told her quietly.

"S'ok. I should probably go now." Jaina added hurriedly and stood. Jag mirrored her actions and when she started to walk towards the door he gently grabbed her arm. She didn't turn around to look at him, but he wasn't offended. It just meant she was trying to hide her feelings.

"You know that anytime you need to talk I'm here. Don't you?" He asked quietly. Jaina finally turned to look at him and he saw confusion in her eyes. "Despite everything that has happened between us Jaina, I'm still your friend."

She searched his eyes for a moment, then nodded and pulled out of his grasp. He didn't move until the door closed behind her, then he plopped down on the couch and closed his eyes. He could run five miles a day and not be winded, but just one short talk with Jaina made him feel like a rookie all over again. Some things never changed.

/____________________________________\


	10. Chapter 10

**Post 10**

Jade looked over and smiled at her husband when he wrapped his hand around hers. Inside she was cringing. Every time he had touched her she had fought down a wave of nausea, but apparently it hadn't shown because he hadn't asked her if anything was wrong. He had talked casually about his trip throughout dinner and she had feigned interest but all she could picture when he talked was the slaves from his file. They were burned into her retinas now and she wondered  
if they would ever go away.

They finished eating and Jade moved to clear things off the table when Bela stopped her.

"Leave it. Someone else can get it." He told her quietly. Standing up he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her forehead. "I have to leave tomorrow and I want to spend some time with you." He kissed her gently, threading his hands through her hair and Jade allowed herself to give in.

/____________________________________\

Kyp was sitting in the middle of the bed going over the info Iella had given him when his comm went off. Without looking away from his work, he reached over to pick it up and turned it on.

"Durron."

"Honey, where did you put the shampoo?"

Kyp closed his eyes and tried to restrain his laughter. "Cute, sweetheart. Are you bored already?" He asked Fel as he turned the datapad off and fell back onto the bed. Truth be told he was bored himself. Not that he wanted this to be an action packed assignment. But he and Fel usually entertained each other and, not to make them sound like an old married couple, they usually weren't away from each other that much. He was used to them sitting on the couch most  
nights and watching some sporting event. Or watching some stupid action movie and telling each other how their day went. Come to think of it, they did sound like an old married couple.

"Hardly." Fel retorted.

"We really need to get lives, Jag."

"Yeah. I was just thinking that." The younger man responded. "How did your first day go?" Jag asked. Kyp could hear him rummaging around through the comm.

"Lovely. Just lovely."

Jag chuckled. "That good?"

"Well, it could have been worse. I got to sit through an agonizingly long, mind numbing meeting of the ambassador's today. Then I got to deal an overgrown hutt posing as head of security for the Senator, who is doing a lousy job of protecting the said senator's wife. And to top it all off, the senator is home two days early, so I got to spring my new job on him too."

Kyp could almost picture Jag raising an eyebrow at his tirade and chuckled.

"Well, hell. That's a good day." Jag threw back and Kyp's eyes shot open. Sitting up he moved over to the side of the bed and stood up.

"What happened?" He asked as he stared out the window at the city skyline. There was something in the tone of his friend's voice that made him uneasy.

"One of the Wampas decided to set of a stink bomb in a classroom." Jag informed him.

"That doesn't sound that bad, unless it was in the mess hall. Of course that would cover the smell of the food."

Kyp heard a chuckle, but had a feeling it wasn't in the mess hall. He waited a moment and when Jag didn't volunteer the location, he took a guess.

"Your classroom, huh."

"Yep."

"How many showers have you taken?"

"Not enough." Jag growled and Kyp let out a whoop of laughter. After his laughter died down, he waited for Jag to say what he had really called for. When his roommate said nothing he sighed.

"So what's really wrong?" Kyp asked, knowing that unless he pushed Jag wouldn't volunteer any info.

"Jaina stopped by tonight. She was looking for you."

Kyp cursed. "I forgot to let her know what happened. Was she mad?"

A chuckle met Kyp's ears. "At first, but she came around eventually. We even managed to be in the same room and not kill each other."

"Well, miracles do exist."

"Iella wants to set me up with someone she knows." Jag threw at him.

"What?! Like a date?" Kyp turned his back to the window and hoped he hadn't heard Jag correctly.

"Yeah. A date. You know what normal people do."

"We're hardly normal Jag."

"Normal is relative, don't you think?" Jag offered his friend.

Kyp sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. "Yeah, so is sanity. Both of us are blessed with neither one of those things. You gonna do it?"

Jag hesitated before he answered. "I think I am. I have to move on Kyp. She's never going to let herself be happy and I don't want to be like that for the rest of my life." He answered quietly.

"I know."

/____________________________________\

Bela was gone by the time Kyp made it downstairs the next morning, not that he was complaining. The man gave him a bad vibe, his side job not withstanding. He stopped in Jade's office and waited for her to finish what she was writing before he spoke.

"May I?" He gestured to the chair in front of her small desk. She smiled slightly and nodded, so he settled himself into the chair.

"Did you have more questions?" She asked as she kept on working. He hesitated for a moment, something felt off with her this morning. The ambassador was not feeling like the happy go lucky person he had met yesterday. Filing that information away for later perusal, he cleared his throat and started talking.

"Yeah, I had a few more questions about security." She nodded again, and he rolled his eyes. It was like sitting across from Jaina. "I noticed that Edward usually assigns Jared Obath as your sentry. Why is that?"

"You should probably ask Edward that." Came her short reply. Kyp raised an eyebrow at her comment. What the sith? Had he been sucked into a wormhole last night?

"That may be, but I'm asking you." He told her, keeping the annoyance out of his voice. Or so he thought.

"Master Durron, I can't speak for Edward as to what he's thinking when he assigns his guards to their duties. As I suggested, you would probably get a more satisfactory answer if you asked him yourself." She told him dismisedly. Kyp blinked a couple of times then shook his head in confusion.

"Am I in the same house?" That finally got a response. She finally looked up and make eye contact with him.

"Excuse me?" Jade answered icily.

That was more like it. At this point he'd take any emotion, even if it was this.

"You're a little snippy today. Any particular reason for that?" He ventured bravely. It wasn't like she could fire him.

Her eyes widened at his audacity and she was actually speechless for a minute. Still not answering him, she reached over and hit a button on her desk. Looking back down at her work, Kyp waited to see what she had just done. The door behind him opened and in stepped a young man. If Kyp had to guess, it was Jared.

"Jared, Master Durron has some questions about security that need answered. Can you take care of that for me please." It wasn't a question, but the young man didn't blink, just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Sure." He answered and jerked his head back towards the door at Kyp. Wordlessly, the master followed and as soon as the door shut behind them he turned  
to the man.

"Did I just miss something?" He asked.

"Nope. I'll explain it in a minute. Let's go to the security office, Edward isn't here today." Kyp nodded and followed Jared down the hall to the other side of the house. They entered a medium sized room that was filled on one side with monitors. Practically every inch of the house and the surrounding grounds was monitored every second of the day. The room was empty except for the two of them and Kyp followed the other man over to a table that sat facing  
the monitors. Taking the seat next to Jared, Kyp waited for an explanation. He didn't have to wait long.

"She's been like this since a little before the shooting. She'll be perfectly content one day and the next day she bites your head off." Jared offered, not meeting Kyp's eyes, but staring at the monitors.

"Why?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's the Senator. These episodes always happen after he's been home."

"Explain, please." Kyp told the young man.

"Not sure I can. I just know that about three months ago, something happened that changed her. It wasn't something good either." He added the last part quietly. Kyp said nothing, getting the feeling the young man had been waiting for someone with whom he could talk.

"I've worked for Senator Mnaa for two years and I have to be honest with you. I don't like the man. He seems nice enough, but he just rubs me the wrong way. I mean, if I was married to someone like Jade, I sure as hell wouldn't be running all over doing Force knows what all over the galaxy."

"He's a senator, that's what they do." Kyp offered.

"Not all of them. He could just as easily work from here. He doesn't have to take nearly the amount of trips that he does. He chooses to work off planet."

"Why do you think that is?" Kyp asked.

"I've heard rumors."

"About?" Kyp prompted.

"Some of the senator's extracurricular activities. The rest of the guards don't really talk to me much, I'm an outsider. I wasn't picked by the Senator, but by Jade so therefore my loyalty is suspect to them."

"Who are you loyal to?" There was a veritable spice mine of information here that no one had bothered to ask this young man about.

Finally, Jared turned to face Kyp. He searched the master's eyes for a moment before he answered. "Jade."

Kyp started to say something and he stopped him. "And before you go off on some weird tangent about it being unhealthy to be attracted to my boss's wife, that's not an issue."

Raising an eyebrow at the young man's comment, Kyp felt a smile creep onto his face.

"That's what Edward tried to tell me. That I was too focused on the ambassador and that it was going to get me in trouble. Truth is, I do like Jade, but just as a friend. We're the same age and I don't really know anyone on this planet. She has been nothing but nice to me since I started working here and I appreciate it more than she'll ever know. We have a lot in common too, seeing as how we are from the same planet."

"That makes sense." Kyp responded. "Still doesn't answer my question though."

"Which one?" Jared joked. "About Jade or about Edward?"

"Let's answer the Edward one first, then the other." He suggested.

"Fair enough. Edward doesn't like me. One because of what I mentioned before, my loyalties. Two, I simply think he doesn't like me because I'm not under his thumb like the rest of them are. I don't blindly follow his orders and he hates that. I honestly think he assigned me to Jade's detail as punishment. Even though that's the farthest thing from punishment I can think of."

Kyp nodded, more to himself than Jared. "That would make sense with the impression I got of him. Though he deferred to her in something the other day I don't think he was happy about it."

"That sounds about right. As far as Jade goes…" Jared rubbed his eyes with one hand and sat forward in the chair. "Something happened with Bela. I think she found out something he was doing and isn't happy about it." He told him softly.

Iella had said that they were fairly certain no one knew that Jade had found anything out. Was it possible she was wrong? Or was Jared just really good at figuring things out?

"Like what?" Kyp pressed.

"You know something, don't you? You're not just here because of the shooting." Kyp hesitated to answer him. "The room isn't bugged, if that's what you're afraid of. I check it daily." At Kyp's look of surprise, Jared chuckled. "I like to think I have a healthy dose of paranoia."

Kyp pursed his lips, debating on if he should tell him or not.

"I can't help protect her if I don't know. You're a jedi, can't you tell if I'm lying?" Jared asked.

Closing his eyes, Kyp probed the young man gently and found that he was telling the truth. He genuinely was worried about Jade. Sighing he came to a decision.

"Bela is suspected of being involved in a slave trading ring. The ambassador came across information that proves it."

Jared let out a string of curses and Kyp chuckled. It was obvious the guard had her best interests at heart, so at least he'd been right about that. He just wondered if Iella would kill him for telling the young man everything. He might have to ask her that soon. It would help to have someone else to help with the ambassador.

"So, as far as Jade goes, I shouldn't take her demeanor this morning personally?" Kyp asked, steering the conversation back to productive ground.

"Yeah. She's just blowing off steam. If she did find something like that, she's not going to go to her family or anyone else for that matter. She tends to take care of things herself, doesn't like to ask for help."

"She already established that." Kyp added dryly.

"Jade is the kind of person who takes care of everyone else and doesn't think about herself. I think what you experienced this morning, is her separating herself from her emotions. That way she doesn't have to deal with them. She doesn't do it often, but when she does it's not pretty."

Kyp snorted. "I know a few people like that. I think I should be able to handle her."

A smile lit up Jared's face at Kyp's comment. "I think you'll do just fine Master Durron."

/____________________________________\

_Planet XXXX  
A few days later…_

Gosse Iall glared at his counterpart, then turned to commence his pacing of the room.

"You're worrying too much Gosse. I told you I would take care of it." Bela assured him from where he sat at the desk in his hotel room. He had just completed his scheduled meeting with the planet mayors and was now trying to reassure Senator Iall that he had everything under control. Iall was apparently not satisfied though.

"Yes, you keep saying that." The man snapped back. Bela rolled his eyes and continued to work. He had a buy to make in a couple of days and was working on a few more for the near future. He just wanted Gosse to leave so he could have some quiet.

"And yet you still keep worrying about it. I'm not sure what I can say to convince you at this point."

"When it actually happens, I'll be convinced."

Bela looked up at him and shot him a glare of his own. "You do realize, that even with my pushing, the bill won't be ratified until a few months at least. If you're going to be this much of a pain in the ass for that long I may have to kill you." He didn't bother to hide the satisfied smirk that came to his face as the other man's head snapped over to look at him, eyes wide in surprise.

If Iall didn't have resources that were vital to his trading he would have never given the man the time of day, but it was one of the sacrifices you made in this business. Putting up with people you didn't like. Hell, both his jobs required that. As it stood, he needed the man's cooperation and this was the only way he would get it.

In exchange for helping to push through a bill that would make it easier for Gosse to keep slaves on his planet, he would provide Shaw with a new source of merchandise. Bela had worded the bill so deeply in gibberish and minute detail that it would take a long time for anyone to realize what it actually allowed. If anyone ever realized it at all, that is.

Bela looked at his chrono and turned off the datapad he was working on.

"Look, stop worrying about things. It will all be taken care of. I've never let you down before, and I'm not going to start now." He told the man as he corralled him towards the door. Gosse huffed, but finally left. Bela dragged his hand over his mouth and sighed. It was about time he left. He had a call to make and didn't really want an audience.

Walking over to the comm station, he sat down and put the number in. After a few moments, a face popped up and he smiled.

"You called." She said breathlessly.

"I told you I would."

"I know, but it always seems like something comes up and you can't." The woman responded. "You're still coming here in a few weeks, aren't you?"

He nodded and she smiled at him.

"Good. I miss you."

"I miss you too."

/____________________________________\

Jade sighed and closed her eyes, continuing her constant search for the peace that was so elusive for her in the last few days. Every visit from Bela sent her world in a tailspin and she couldn't seem to recover anymore. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees. It was quiet tonight. Well, as quiet as Coruscant could get. The house wasn't close to any major air lanes, but she could still hear the steady hum of speeders from the back porch.

She was sitting in her favorite place in her garden. For security reasons, Bela had vetoed her idea for a full garden, arguing that it would have given someone too many places to hide. She had given up the argument, but eventually had convinced him to give her a small section of the back porch to cultivate. Most of her flowers were waist high or lower and not as thickly planted as she would have liked, but she had taken what she could get. Having limited space, she had planted the most fragrant of her favorites and placed them in a circle like arrangement complete with a small fountain and some smaller privacy hedges. She now sat in the middle of that circle, letting the sounds and smells drift over her. It helped a little.

The door swooshed open behind her and she sighed again. She was doing that a lot lately. He came over and sat down next to her, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands. Niether one of them spoke. He didn't want to break the silence, but eventually he did.

"You were kinda mean to Master Durron." He told her quietly. Jade said nothing, just opened her eyes and looked up at the stars above them. "He's only here to help." He added.

"I know."

"Which part?" He joked and she looked at him out of the side of her eyes and glared. Jared chuckled and tilted his head to the sky also.

"I know I was a hag to him. I'll apologize."

"Before he dies of old age?"

"I'm going to tell him you said he was old." She threw back. He looked over to see a smile creep onto her face. Her smile had been absent since Bela had left.

"You've got no proof, so I'm not worried."

They lapsed into silence again, allowing her thoughts to drift. She had not started their working relationship off on the right foot. How could she expect him to protect her when she wasn't being very likeable?

"I got the invitation for the Ambassador's ball in the mail today." She told him, and laughed when he groaned. The ball was an annual event that was just an excuse to party and be seen, but pretty much required attendence. They both hated the event, but usually Jared didn't have to go since Bela went. She wondered if she could actually stand going with her husband this year. Normally, she loved it just because she got to dance. It was something her mother had made she and her brother learn when they had been growing up and the older she got, the more she liked it. It was also one of the things Bela indulged her in, so she took advantage of it.

"I should make you go this year, just for fun." She told him as they stood up and she brushed her pants off.

"I'm so glad I can provide some entertainment for you." He mumbled and she laughed over her shoulder at him. When she made it into the house and turned around she saw Kyp and stopped, making Jared nearly plow into her and making her laugh even harder. Jared smirked when he noticed Kyp's frown deepen. Interesting. He thought to himself. Surely that wasn't what he thought it was.

"Master Durron, I wonder if I might have a word with you in my office." She asked him, a smile still gracing her face. He nodded, but didn't move as she walked up the stairs to her office. Kyp looked over at Jared, confusion etched on his face and the young man shrugged. "Women." He mouthed to the jedi, then turned to go down the hall that led to the security office. Kyp's gaze went back to the stairs and he shook his head slightly.

"I'm going crazy. That's the only explanation." He told himself quietly as he took the stairs two at a time and came to the doorway. She wasn't sitting at her desk though. Jade was sitting in the window seat and looked up when he entered. Giving him another smile, she motioned for him to sit at the other end of the seat and then looked back outside.

He sat quietly, but kept his back to the window. She looked over at him and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you a few days ago. Wait, that's not right. For the way I've treated you for the last three days total." She told him quietly. Kyp just nodded, not sure where this was going.

"I have no excuse and I'm a little ashamed of my behavior." She continued, her voice holding just a hint of insecurity.

"Well, it's not like things aren't stressful for you right now." He offered, not sure why he was making excuses for her. He understood for the most part, but it still annoyed him that she had done it. For some reason he had thought she was going to be different.

"It still doesn't justify what I did." Jade said, tucking a wayward tress of hair behind her ear. She was looking down in her lap at her hands and he took the opportunity to study her. He would have to have been dead to not see she was a beautiful woman. Her hair was down today and the auburn curls covered her shoulder like a blanket, ending just above her waist. Jag and Zekk would just tell him he was fascinated with her because she was a challenge and he  
needed to get laid. He chuckled quietly to himself and her gaze shot up to his.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry, I was space trucking there for a second." Kyp shifted his body, so that he was facing her, mirroring her pose. "Look, I know I'm not here to be your best friend or anything like that. I'm here to protect you, but this will be a lot easier if we can get along."

"I can't promise I'm not going to be a hag again." She told him, the corner of her mouth turning up.

"That's fine. I can't promise I'm going to not be a pain in the ass. So why don't we just forget about it and start over."

Jade gave him a full-blown smile then. "I'd like that."

/____________________________________\


	11. Chapter 11

**Post 11**

_One week later… _

Jag was pulling on his shirt when the door chime rang. Rolling his eyes, he continued buttoning it as he walked to answer the door. A smile crept onto his face when he saw who it was.

"Hey cuz. Mind if I come in?"

He stepped back and waved her into the living room. Myri turned to look at him as he finished with his shirt. When he looked back up from the buttons she was giving him 'the look'.

"Is there a particular reason I'm getting glared at?" He asked as he walked over to the couch and sat to put on his shoes.

"What are you doing?" She said, standing in front of him, hands on her hips.

"I'm putting my shoes on, Myr. I thought they covered that in basic training."

"Jagged! That's not what I'm talking about and you know it."

Jag grinned at her and tried not to laugh. He really didn't feel like sporting a bruise on his date. If he laughed at Myri that was exactly what he would have.

"Why are you going on this date?" She asked him, her voice quieter now. He looked up and saw a frown on her face.

"Myri…"

"You and Jaina belong together." She interrupted him.

Jag sat back on the couch and sighed. "Myri, I really don't want to talk about this before my date." Can we have this discussion some other time?"

"No, because it will be too late then. Why don't you ask Jaina out on a date?"

"A guy can only get shot down so many times before he gets the idea. Besides, I don't think you really have any place to be telling me this."

He saw her bristle at his comment, but didn't apologize.

"We're not talking about me. We're talking about you."

"So why haven't you asked Jake on a date?" He countered and saw her deflate just a little. "I'm sorry Myri, that wasn't very nice of me."

She sat down next to him and sighed. "No, you're right. I should have done something, but it might be too late now. He's on a date tonight."

"You're kidding me? Please tell me your mom didn't set him up?" Jag pulled her to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"No, some girl asked him out. I found out from his wingmate."

"I'm sorry, honey." He told her as he kissed the top of her head. "You know, it may not be too late though. Maybe he'll be so bored that he won't want to see her again."

"Or she'll be so ugly, he'll run screaming from the restaurant." She mumbled and Jag had to laugh.

"Don't give up yet, Myri. I know Jake likes you, you just have to make sure he knows your feelings are returned."

"Yeah." She responded. They sat there in silence for a few moments, then Jag sighed.

"I have to go, honey." Myri nodded and stood up. He did the same and pulled her into a hug.

"You know, you could follow your own advice." She turned to tell him right before she walked out the door.

He smiled and nodded at her, then she left.

/____________________________________\

He moved to ring the door chime, but stopped right before he hit it. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and pushed everything else out of his head. He would not think of Jaina tonight.

/____________________________________\

"Jagged?"

His eyes snapped back to Ranna and gave her a smile.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else."

She smiled at him and took a drink of her wine. He had to admit that Iella had picked someone who was extremely beautiful. Her long blonde hair and blue eyes had drawn more than a few eyes tonight and she was very interesting to talk to. Why the hell couldn't he just focus? He should be enjoying himself.

"Is she pretty?"

He looked at her confused. "What?"

"Whoever you were thinking about." She told him. He searched her eyes, but saw no hint of anger or jealousy.

"I wasn't…"

"Don't lie. From what I've heard, you're not a man prone to lying."

He didn't say anything for a minute, then looked down at his plate.

"I'm sorry. This was terribly unfair to you." He told her as he gave her an apologetic look.

"Stop apologizing Jagged. It's apparent that you have no interest in being here and that's ok. I understand. I'm not expecting you to ask me to marry you."

He chuckled and she gave him a smile.

"So tell me about her." Ranna asked as the waiter came and cleared their plates.

"You don't really…"

"If I hadn't wanted to talk about it, I wouldn't have brought it up. She's obviously very special to you. Your eyes lit up when you thought about her."

He gave her a bewildered look. This had to be one of the weirdest dates he had ever been on.

"Does she know how you feel?" Ranna prompted and he nodded.

"Yeah. She knows."

"She doesn't feel the same way?"

"I honestly don't know. She used to, but so much has changed since then."

"You knew her during the war?"

"Yeah. Flew with her."

"Ah. So she's a pilot."

"Yeah."

"That doesn't surprise me."

Jag raised an eyebrow at her comment. Ranna just smiled at him.

"I get the feeling that type of person would hold your interest more than anything else. Is she good?"

Jag smiled, his eyes not focusing on anything except memories. "Yeah." He answered wistfully.

"So what's stopping you?"

"Some horrible things happened between us. We're still friends, but…I don't know. The main problem is she doesn't think she deserves to be happy, with anyone. She's so awkward when we're around each other too."

"Ah."

They sat in silence for a moment before Jag spoke again. "I'm sorry Ranna, I can't do this." When she smiled at him, it was only filled with understanding.

"Bout time you figured it out." She laughed at his expression and Jag couldn't help but smile back.

/____________________________________\

Kyp walked into the outer office and smiled as Seena looked up from her desk and greeted him.

"Good evening Master Durron. How are you tonight?"

"I'm good Seena, but why are you still here? She being a slave driver tonight?" He winced inwardly at his choice of words and was thankful Jade hadn't heard him. Seena just laughed. She was the aide for four different ambassadors and had confessed to Kyp a few days ago that Jade was her favorite. The young Thyferian has been working in the office for only a few months but Kyp could understand why Jade liked her so much. She always had a smile for whoever  
walked in the door and was a hard worker.

"No, more like she's working herself to death. Take her home please." She joked with him as she started to gather up her things to leave.

"You need me to walk you out?" He asked before he moved to open the door into Jade's office. Seena just shook her head and smirked at him.

"No, you need to get her home. I don't have far to walk and the guard can see me out. Night Master Durron." She called back over her shoulder.

He stood there for a minute and watched her leave, then turned to go into Jade's office. He found her standing in front of her office window, looking out over the skyline. They had fallen into a comfortable routine in the last week or so. Bela hadn't been home, so he figured that was a big part of it. He had been having some issues though, personal ones. It seemed like his ability to look at Jade as just a job was slowly dwindling and he wasn't sure how  
to deal with it. He started noticing little things that she did and found himself wanting to do things for her. Things that guys do for girls they like, not people whose lives they were trying to protect. He needed to talk to Jag, but hadn't had a chance since they had both been so busy. Kyp had been free tonight, but Jag was going on his date. That was bothering him too. He hoped this wasn't going to mess with the tentative truce his two best friends had decided to forge. Unfortunately, he had a feeling it was going to.

/____________________________________\

Jade watched the traffic speed by her office window and sighed. Bela was supposed to be home in a few days and she was already starting to dread it. She had promised Jared she would try to not let it bother her so much this time, but she wasn't sure she could. This led her to the second issue. She rested her forehead on the glass and closed her eyes. Kyp. They had gotten closer in the last week, since she had apologized for being a pain and that was the  
core of her problem. She wasn't sure her feelings were pure business anymore. They were starting to border on something else. And that made her feel a million different things, not the least of which was scared. She shouldn't be feeling this for him. She was married and he was just here to make sure she stayed alive, but she couldn't help but feel her heart beat harder when he was around. Which was almost all the time, not that she was complaining.

Everytime she thought about her feelings for the Jedi master she inevitably thought about her husband. She hadn't talked to anyone about it, not even Iella, but she was starting to doubt herself. Jade had always been extremely confidant in her abilities and herself and now she found herself in unfamiliar territory. She had finally resigned herself to knowing that once Bela was ousted that she would be on her own. There was no way she could stay married to him now, regardless of what they once had. It wasn't the being on her own that bothered her. It was the moving on part. She found herself daydreaming a lot more than usual, and the subject seemed to be Kyp. A part of her felt like she was betraying her marriage too. Not that she thought anyone would blame her, but she blamed herself.

She heard the door behind her open but didn't move. It would just be Kyp and she needed to compose herself before she looked at him.

"You ok?" He asked her quietly from where he stood by the door. She swore she could feel electricity in the air when he walked in the room, but that had to be her mind playing tricks on her. Taking a deep breath, she pulled a blanket of calm over her and turned to grace him with a smile.

"Yeah. Just had a long day."

Kyp raised an eyebrow at her in question, but didn't push her. "You ready?" When she nodded, he turned to go back out into the outer office and she started to get her things together. When she came out of the room, he was standing by the door waiting for her…with a smile. Her pulse quickened and she returned the gesture.

They walked quietly down the deserted hall, their footsteps echoing on the polished floor. He was a little distracted, but she didn't say anything. The last thing she wanted to do was distract him more. They stopped to wait for the lift and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He had showered and his hair was still a little damp around his temples she noted, as she ran her gaze over his face. The master's face brow was furrowed in thought and  
she smiled to herself. He looked so handsome when he did that.

She heard the lift door swoosh open and, with a smile on her lips, moved to walk in. A gasp escaped her when she felt an arm grab her around the waist and pull her back out of the lift. Kyp had pulled her back against him, but that wasn't what made her catch her breath. When she looked into the lift, she saw only blackness.

/____________________________________\

Kyp felt a tingling on the back of his neck and only had a second to react. Grabbing her around the waist with his left arm, he reached down to his light saber and brought it up in front of them. There was no one in the lift. Actually, there was no lift. His heart was pounding in his chest as he realized what would have happened if he hadn't grabbed her!? He felt her start to shake and backed up, while he was scanning the surrounding area. His back finally  
hit the wall behind them and he lowered his weapon. She hadn't uttered a noise this entire time, but her fear was palpable in the force. Clipping his saber back on his belt, he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and slowly felt her trembles lessen.

Leaning his head against the back of hers, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could feel her pulse pounding against his arm and he tightened his grip. While he wasn't complaining that she was in his arms, he had hoped it wouldn't be under these sort of circumstances.

"You ok?" He asked her softly. Jade nodded stiffly and he reluctantly pulled himself away from her. He could feel her calm a little, but she was still shook up. Kyp scanned the hallway visually, then took her hand and walked back to her office. Sitting her down in Seena's chair, he reached over to call security.

/____________________________________\

"Master Durron, I am so sorry. I have no idea why that lift was malfunctioning." The guard uttered. After his call, neither one of them had said anything as they waited for security to show up. A precursory check of the lift had found it to be turned on to maintenance mode, but no record of any maintenance being done in the last two weeks. It was unnerving to him to say the least.

Kyp nodded at the man, then turned back to Jade. She was biting her lip and staring at Seena's desktop. He had to get her out of here.

"Please let me know if you find anything. I'm going to take the ambassador home now." The man nodded enthusiastically at him and then left. Wordlessly, he reached over to grab one of Jade's hands and pulled her up to a standing position. She still didn't say anything, but let him lead her out of the room. They took the stairs to the ground floor this time, Kyp's senses on high alert. He had called ahead to have Jared come and pick them up and the young man was waiting for them when they got to the bottom of the steps.

The two men shared a look as Kyp held the door open for Jade. Jared didn't know what had happened but he could tell Jade was shaken up. He knew that Kyp would fill him in as soon as he could. The drive home was quiet, as he just sat beside her, holding her hand. Actually, she was holding his hand and didn't seem to want to let go.

They arrived back at the mansion and Kyp walked Jade up to her room. She walked over to the bed and sat down, putting her head in her hands. He stood there for a moment, then sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. At the first jerk of her shoulders, he clenched his jaw. She cried quietly in his arms and he hated that he couldn't do anything about it. He had always hated people crying, but Jade's tears were particularly hard for him to take. A  
few times in the last week he had heard her quietly crying when she thought everyone else was asleep. He couldn't count the number of times he had wanted to go and hold her, instead he just listened and thought of the different ways he was going to kill her husband when this was all over.

A few minutes later, he realized that she had become still and he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"You need me to stay until you fall asleep?" He whispered. She shook her head and he gave her one last squeeze before he disengaged himself from her. Jade wiped furiously at her cheeks and he stood not sure what to say.

"I'll be fine Kyp. Go talk to Jared. I'm sure he's going crazy wondering what happened." She told him softly, then stood and walked into the fresher.

/____________________________________\

Kyp walked into the living room and motioned for Jared to join him in the kitchen. The younger man hoisted himself up on the island as Kyp leaned against the sink; Jade's favorite thinking place lately.

"Do I want to know?" Jared asked quietly.

"No. But I'm going to tell you anyway." Kyp answered. "One of the lifts at the embassy was apparently turned to maintenance mode sometime today. That wouldn't be an issue, except Jade almost walked into said lift."

Jared's mouth hung open in shock. "Damn." He finally said when he found his voice.

"Yeah. There was no records of any maintenance in the last two weeks and from what we were able to piece together the lift was working fine earlier today."

"This was another attack." Jared said angrily and Kyp just nodded his head.

"She's fine, just shook up." He continued as he ran his hand over his face. "One of us needs to stay up and watch the monitors tonight."

"I'll do it." Jared said quickly. "I had already planned on it."

Kyp nodded, and Jared left him alone with his thoughts. He had to make a call and he wasn't particularly excited about it.

/____________________________________\

Wedge groaned when he heard the comm signal go off. The planet had better be falling apart, he thought as he separated himself from his wife and padded over to answer it. Scratching the top of his head, he sat down and let out a yawn before he his the button. On the screen was the last person he wanted to see at this hour of the morning. Then his brain kicked in and realized what that meant.

"What happened?" He asked, quickly waking up and talking a little more harshly than he intended.

Kyp cleared his throat, but didn't react to Wedge's tone.

"Is Iella awake, cause I don't really want to have to tell this story twice." He asked quietly. Before Wedge could answer, she walked up behind him and Kyp nodded at her.

"We were leaving Jade's office tonight, when we went to get in the lift and it wasn't there." He said, his voice flat and without emotion. Iella had a feeling he was trying to keep his anger in check, because she noticed he seemed to be clenching his teeth. It was too early in the morning to dwell on that observation though.

"Is she ok?" She asked, Wedge reaching over to put her hand on his shoulder, wrapping it in his own.

"Yeah, she's a little shook up, but she's fine." He told them. "I had security check the maintenance records, but it hasn't been worked on in at least two weeks. At least not officially." He added.

"I'll have Raxle check the video feeds for her floor and see if we can find something." Kyp nodded at her suggestion, then took a deep breath.

"Have you heard from Suna and Chaz?"

"They checked in a couple of days ago, but nothing out of the ordinary, at least not yet. He's on his way home. Should be here in a day or so."

"Ok. Let me know if Raxle finds anything out."

Iella nodded at him, and Kyp said good night, then signed off.

Wedge stood and pulled his wife into his arms. "Let's go back to bed. There's nothing we can do right now. We can go and visit her in the morning." He suggested softly. Iella nodded against his chest and he placed a kiss on the crown of her head.

/____________________________________\


	12. Chapter 12

**Post 12**

Jade woke the next morning with a stuffy head and a splitting headache. Groaning quietly, she turned over and buried her head in her pillow. Nothing like falling asleep crying, she thought ruefully to herself. She lay there, thinking about last night and a shiver ran down her back. If Kyp hadn't been there…she wasn't sure she wanted to think about it. Jade rolled back over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She wouldn't be going back to sleep, so she might as well get up.

She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water try to wash away her fear from last night. Jade focused instead on the other thing she hadn't been able to attend to properly last night. Too bad she had been worried about dying, or she could have enjoyed the fact that Kyp had been holding her. Extremely close at that. It hadn't been til much later that she had even realized it, but she had definitely had some interesting dreams because of it last night. Finally, she felt a little better and got out. She dressed casually, since she didn't have anything planned for the day and made her way downstairs.

The smell of food hit her close to the bottom step and she stopped in surprise. The cook was off on the weekends that Bela wasn't here. She'd never known Kyp or Jared to cook. Stepping into the kitchen, she couldn't hide her smile.

They had made enough food for a family of ten. It littered the table and the island and smelled heavenly. She hadn't been hungry, but seeing all this food and realizing they had probably made it to make her feel better, had brought her appetite back.

She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms in front of her to watch them.

"Are you two hungry, or were you planning on throwing a party?" She asked them, then laughed when they jumped. She frowned at Kyp. "I thought you couldn't sneak up on Jedi?" She asked him, crossing the room to pluck off a piece of food from the table.

Jared swatted her hand and she just grinned at him.

"Well, I wasn't really paying attention. Normally, you can't."

"I'm not sure that's reassuring." She mumbled to herself as she finished her stolen food.

"Sit." Jared instructed her as he waved her towards the table. She gave him a confused look and he rolled his eyes at her.

"You know, you roll your eyes at me too much." She told him as she took a seat.

"Well, maybe if you didn't give me so many reasons to, I wouldn't." He retorted as he and Kyp came over to the table and sat down on either side of her. Not waiting for permission, she started to fill her plate and noticed that the boys had done the same.

They all ate in silence for a few moments, before Jade finally asked.

"Why did you make all this food? Could you not decide what you wanted?" She chuckled, then laughed when they looked at each other.

"We weren't sure what you liked." Kyp told her.

Jade turned her gaze to Jared. "You've been here for two years and you don't know?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "I don't pay attention to your food." He threw at her.

"What do you pay attention to?" Kyp asked, arching an eyebrow at the man. Jared paused for a minute, then shoved some food in his mouth and smiled. Jade laughed, and they all fell into an easy banter. They sat there a good hour eating and talking, when Jared let out a huge yawn.

"You didn't sleep last night, did you?" Jade asked him, starting to get up and clean the table. Kyp laid a hand on her arm and she sat back down.

"We'll clean up." He looked over at Jared as he let out another yawn. "I'll clean up." He amended, as he stood and walked over to the counter. "Jared, go get some sleep." The young man didn't argue, merely smiled and walked to the security office.

Jade sat there at the table for a minute, then stood up and started to clear things again. She walked over to where Kyp was putting things in containers and didn't even have to see his face to know he was frowning at her.

"I thought I told you I would clean up."

"You did." She responded as she started to put stuff away. "But you're just going to have to deal with me helping you." They worked side by side, until everything was put away and the dishes were loaded into the washer. Kyp was drying his hands off on a towel, when he turned to find Jade staring out the window over the sink. He smiled and watched her for a few seconds.

"I never said thank you last night." She whispered to him, never taking her eyes off the window. He set the towel down and came over to stand against the counter next to her.

"You had other things on your mind." He told her quietly. She finally turned to look at him and smiled faintly. They stared at each other for a moment, then Jade leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. He searched her face afterwards and found gratitude and something else he couldn't quite name in her eyes. Or maybe, it was he didn't want to dare to hope he was correct about it.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly to him, then turned to leave the room.

* * *

"You ready for lunch yet?" Zekk called out, as he walked into Jag's now empty classroom. Jag shut the door to the equipment cabinet and looked over at his friend. Zekk had called him this morning and asked if he wanted to have lunch. That wasn't unusual, they ate together when their schedules allowed it. Jag, however, had a feeling that he was going to be drilled for some information this time.

"Yeah, let me finish putting this stuff up and I'll be ready." Zekk nodded and a few minutes later, they were headed down to the mess hall. They both had another class this afternoon so there wasn't time to go out to eat. They chatted casually while getting their food and for the first few minutes after they sat down. Then the fun questions came.

"So, how was your date last night?" Zekk asked, taking a bite of something he probably didn't want to name.

Jag looked at him, then shook his head. "How in the sith did you find out I had a date?"

Zekk grinned. "Ben told me."

Jag sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You gonna answer my question?" The Jedi asked when Jag didn't make an attempt to respond the first time.

"It was fine."

"Come on, Fel. Give me more than that." Zekk pleaded. "You gonna see her again?"

"No." Jag answered forcefully.

"No?"

"No."

"Why not? She not interesting enough?"

Jag sighed. "She was fine. Extremely interesting and beautiful." He offered and when no response came he looked up and found Zekk grinning at him.

"You know, I think I'm starting to hate you guys." He mumbled as he pushed his plate away.

"You think? Hell Jag, you've been around us for long enough. I would think you, of all people, would have a more definite answer by now." He joked.

* * *

Kyp wasn't surprised when the door chime sounded in the middle of the day. The only way he would have been surprised is if it hadn't. When he answered he found an apprehensive Iella and Wedge waiting. He moved back so they could come in and smiled at Iella.

"She's in her office." The intelligence agent muttered her thanks as she practically ran up the stairs.

Both men watched her leave then Kyp turned back to Wedge.

"How is she?" The older man asked quietly.

"She's ok. I think she actually got some sleep last night, so she has been doing pretty well so far." He answered and received a nod for it. Wedge didn't say anything else, just followed the path his wife had taken earlier.

* * *

"I'm fine Ella, I promise." Wedge heard Jade telling his wife as he walked into the room. Trying to hide his smile, he walked over and pulled Jade into a hug. She held him a little tighter than normal, but he didn't complain. He was just glad he was able to do it at all.

"I'm just glad Kyp was there. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't been." Wedge heard Jade mumble. He looked over her head and shared a look with Iella. Suddenly, Jade's head popped up, barely missing Wedge's chin. She looked at Iella in horror.

"What?"

"Seena left not too long before we did last night. What if she took the lift…"

"I'll make sure she made it home last night." Iella assured her friend.

Jade nodded mutely then buried her face back in Wedge's chest. She felt the fear creeping up on her again.

Kyp felt her signature in the force spike and it took every bit of willpower he had to not run up the stairs and find out why. If it had been anyone else she was talking to, he would have. But he was loathe to mess with the tentative truce Iella had formed with him. Barging in the room, light saber at the ready would not bode well for him. So he sat on the couch and tried to stare a hole in the wall.

"Something you cook for breakfast not sitting well with you?"

He looked up to find Jared plopping down in the chair next to him, a grin on his face. He looked better than he had earlier.

"I thought you were getting some sleep?" Kyp asked him, sitting back against the cushions.

"Nah. I can sleep when I'm dead. It's gonna mess with my schedule too much if I sleep any more."

Kyp nodded and didn't say anything else.

"What makes you think it was something that I cooked that would be bothering me?" Kyp finally asked and Jared laughed.

"Because I know I can actually cook. I don't know if you can." He responded.

Whatever Kyp was going to say next was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Both men stood as the Antilles walked into the living room.

"Chaz is going to call tonight when they get on planet." Kyp nodded at Iella's statement. "I'm going to go and check on Seena right now."

Kyp swore. He'd forgotten all about her.

"Yeah, Jade just remembered too. Though I don't think anyone will blame her." Wedge told the group.

Jared looked confused and Iella filled him in. He nodded, but didn't say anything else. It hadn't crossed his mind either. He just hoped she was ok.

"You'll let us know what you find out?" Kyp asked.

"Of course." Iella responded. She and Wedge turned to leave then, but she stopped and looked at Kyp.

"Thank you Kyp." The master just nodded at her and they left. Jared looked over at him, giving him a lopsided grin.

"She doesn't like you very much, does she?"

Kyp sat back down on the couch and ran his hand over his face. "What makes you think that?" He asked dryly.

"She was a little uncomfortable giving you that last comment."

"Yeah. Neither one of them has ever liked me. I've made some big mistakes. I'm kind of used to it by now"

Jared snorted. "Like you're the only one. Granted, most people haven't destroyed planets, but still."

Kyp raised an eyebrow at him. "You know about my past?"

"I did my homework. When Jade told me you had been assigned I made sure to find out everything I could about you. And yes, I don't have a problem being your friend. We all make mistakes Kyp. You've obviously learned from yours or I doubt you'd be a master now." Kyp didn't say anything, but he must have looked shocked because Jared continued. "Not everyone is so judgemental. Jade doesn't have an issue with it."

"She knows?" He whispered.

The guard chuckled. "There's not much Jade doesn't know. She's the one who had me get the info on you. Being uninformed is not an option for her."

Jared stood and stretched before he spoke again.

"Plus, from what I know about Iella, she wouldn't have let you near Jade if she didn't trust you to take care of her."

* * *

It was around 2400 when Kyp finally heard from Chaz. He was sitting in the security office watching the monitors when his comm went off.

"Durron."

"Master Durron. He's on his way home. Should be there in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks Chaz." The agent signed off and Kyp took a final look at the monitors before he stood up and left the room. He knew she was still awake. Iella had called about an hour ago to say that Seena was fine. She had taken the stairs that night because the lift had been taking too long. Kyp wondered if the person who had tampered with the lift had stuck around to see the fruits of their labor.

He knocked on Jade's bedroom door lightly, but didn't wait for her to answer. She had the blinds pulled closed, so the room was pitch dark. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust until he could make out her form on the bed. She rolled over to face him and he gave her a small smile, not knowing if she could see him or not.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly. Kyp hadn't moved from just inside the door, but she could make out his outline.

"He's on his way home. I just thought you might like to know." He told her, moving over to the side of the bed. Probably not one of his better decisions, but he found he couldn't help himself. Jade didn't say anything for a minute, just lay there digesting the information.

"How long?"

"About 20 minutes. Chaz just called."

Jade nodded, sure he could feel her response even if he couldn't see her. She rolled back over on her side and took a deep breath.

"Do you want me to help you fall asleep?" He asked quietly.

"No. I'll be ok." She whispered. Kyp watched her for a few more seconds, then left the room.

He was waiting in the living room when the Senator finally made it home with his contingent of guards. Kyp still couldn't get over how Bela only left one guard here to be with Jade, but took the rest with him. That didn't really speak of a man who was worried about his wife. He and Jade had discussed about whether or not to tell him about the lift incident, but Jade had been adamant about not saying anything. She was convinced he knew already, thinking he had been behind it. Kyp still had his doubts, but with nothing to back it up he had gone along with her decision.

He stood when the Senator entered and the man nodded in his direction.

"Tiro, just put my bag in my office." He told one of his guards then turned back to find a questioning look coming from Kyp.

"I don't want to disturb Jade this late at night. I have to leave again in the morning anyway, probably before she wakes up." He told him. Kyp felt like the man was trying to justify his actions, but at the moment the master could care less. He was just glad that he wouldn't be in the same bed as her tonight.

Kyp nodded as the senator gave him one last look before disappearing up the steps. His trips home had become less and less frequent, but they hadn't caught him doing anything other than his day job. Jared had guessed he was using a middle man now, but there was no reason he should be. They were confident he didn't know he was being followed, but one never knew in the business of intelligence. Kyp decided he had done enough thinking for the day and made his way to his room.

* * *

The next morning found the three of them sitting in the living room. Kyp was watching the holonews, Jared was taking a nap, or at least looked like he was and Jade was working on something on her data pad. Bela had been true to his word and had been gone by the time she had woken up this morning. She found herself wondering if it was wrong of her to feel relief. The guilt just wouldn't go away and she knew it was crazy because she wasn't the one who had done anything wrong. If anyone should feel guilty it was Bela, but she knew he didn't. She was realizing how naïve she had been when it came to him. Hell, she  
had been naïve about a lot of things, him being the biggest. Her mother had always told her that it was just her nature to be trusting. It wasn't a bad thing, you just had to be careful and not let yourself get hurt. Jade snorted to herself. It was a little late for that.

Every time she thought she knew exactly what she felt for Bela now, she started to doubt herself. She was sure some small part of her loved him, but that was it. To be honest, he could walk away and she would be fine with that. Her life would go on, and she would have no regrets. She knew it wasn't going to be that easy though. It never was.

"Hey." She looked up startled at Jared's voice. He opened one eye and looked at her. "I can hear you brooding from over there. Stop it."

She smiled and threw a pillow at him. "Since when did you become force sensitive?" she joked.

"I'm not, but I've been around you long enough to know what you're doing."

"But you don't know what she likes to eat?" Kyp popped himself into the conversation.

"Nobody asked you Kyp. Go back to the news." Jared said as he closed his eyes again. They fell back into silence again for a few minutes.

"Is Bela force sensitive?"

Jade looked up from her work and Jared's eyes opened to give him a weird look.

"What?" She asked, wanting to make sure she had heard him correctly.

"Is Bela force sensitive?" He repeated.

"No. Not that I'm aware of." She answered. Jared said nothing, just sat there wondering why the question had come up at all.

"I was just curious. When I first met him, he seemed very closed off. I couldn't get a sense of his emotions."

"He's always been like that. I think that's what makes him so good at being a senator." She said quietly as she went back to her work. "You know." She began, both men thinking she was going to continue on the same issue. "The ball is in a few weeks."

Jared groaned and it was Kyp's turn to be confused.

"Ball?" He asked, not sure he wanted to know.

"Yep. The Ambassador's Ball."

"Have fun at that." Jared told her and Kyp chuckled.

"Bela probably won't be here and I'm required to make an appearance. That means one or both of you will have to go with me."

"That wasn't in my job description." Kyp retorted.

"One of the perks." She threw back. Jared sat there and grinned at the two of them. They were so kriffing blind to the attraction between them. Or at least they acted like they were. He just loved watching their verbal banter. It was a sight to behold.

"Perks? How is that a perk? You have to dress up in scratchy, uncomfortable clothes and act like you want to talk to people you really can't stand." Kyp said, as he turned back to the news.

"I could order you to go."

"I could quit." He responded.

"I'll sic Iella on you."

Kyp sighed. She knew his weak spot. Damn it. He hated dressing up. Though, it might be worth it just to see her dressed up. He looked up to see her smiling sweetly at him. Jared laughed and Kyp knew he was in trouble.

"If I go, Jared has to go too."

"Hey!" The young man yelled. "Whose side are you on?"

_Four days later…_

Kyp walked into Jag's classroom and found his friend in the middle of the floor doing pushups.

"Must not have a class right now." He joked as he leaned against the bleacher railing. Jag didn't say anything as he finished his reps then sat back on his haunches and gave Kyp a disgusted look.

"And your pleasant today to boot . Fabulous." He remarked dryly as he walked over and sat down on the bottom row of seats.

Jag got his towel and flung it over his bare shoulders as he took a couple gulps of water.

"Is there a particular reason you're here annoying me?" Jag asked.

"Actually, there is. Jaina is having everyone over for dinner tonight."

Jag looked at him and waited. "And?" He finally asked.

"You're going." Kyp received a snort in response.

"Yeah, cause that's the one place I'm wanted right now." He spat as he came over and sat down next to the master. Kyp went to elbow him in the side, but Jag moved out of the way in time to avoid the full blow.

"Don't be crabby. I hate it when you're crabby."

"Maybe we need a divorce." Jag said.

"No, I'm not ready for that yet." He leaned back onto the next row of bleachers and put his hands behind his head. "Alanna is on the planet."

"I know." Jag said quietly.

"So, you're coming to dinner."

"No."

"Damn it! Stop arguing with me. I get enough of that from Jade."

Jag turned to look at him and cocked his scarred brow, his lips lifting into a smile. Kyp rolled his eyes and went to swat him again, but was unsuccessful again.

"I'm picking you up at 2100 Jag. You better have taken a shower and look nice."

Surprisingly enough, Kyp didn't have to hassle Jag to get ready when he got to the apartment.

"So, how did your date go?" Kyp asked casually. He hadn't had an opportunity to ask lately. Jade had been busy all week and by the time he had found the time, he had spent it convincing Jag to come tonight and getting ready himself.

"It was enlightening." The younger man offered.

Kyp raised an eyebrow at his comment, but they had arrived at Jaina's door, so he didn't push further. Kyp didn't even knock. He just put the code in and they found the party already going on when they stepped into the living room.

"Jag!" He had just enough time to brace himself before the taller than average eight year old Hapan princess tried to mow him over. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, and Jag found a smile coming to his face. He and Alanna had gotten close while Jaina had gone off to defeat her brother. She had stayed on Ossus at the academy and had somehow inserted herself into his life. While he hadn't seen her a lot in the last five years, he made it a point to see her at least once a year on Hapes and take her a life day present. He called her frequently too.

"I was afraid you weren't coming." She told him as he lowered her back to the ground.

"Now why would I miss a chance to see my favorite princess." He responded, ruffling her hair. She laughed and when he raised his eyes, he found Jaina and Han watching him, both with very different reactions.

Han had a smirk on his face, but Jag wasn't sure if it was because Alanna was happy or something else he really didn't want to delve into right now. Jaina however, she was a whole other matter. Something akin to regret shone from her eyes and he felt the need to gift her with a smile. She gave him one back and moved into the kitchen.

Dinner was an event, as always. The Solos were there, of course, as was Kyp, Ben and Jag. Even Zekk had shone up. Alanna had talked to Jag most of the dinner and no one had said anything. She probably wouldn't get to see him much while she was here, so he was glad to be able to spend this little bit of time with her.

Eventually, they filtered back out into the living room. A few hours later, Jaina took her niece down the hallway to help her get her things put away. She was staying with Jaina for a few days, before she went to Han and Leia's.

Jag waited about 30 minutes and when neither one of them showed back up into the living room, he finally conceded that he was going to have to go to them. It was time for him to leave, but Alanna would never forgive him if he didn't tell her good night. Quietly, he made his way down the hall and when he got to the guest bedroom he stopped, a chuckle escaping from him.

Jaina and Alanna were standing at the end of the bed, holding a toothbrush and a hairbrush like microphones and singing animatedly into them. He actually had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. The music was turned up loud so he knew they wouldn't hear him, but he didn't want to take a chance. The little girl had apparently done her aunt's hair, since it was twisted in some weird ways and stood out about a couple centimeters from her head.

They were oblivious to his presence until a point in the song where they jumped in place, turning to face the door and pointing in his direction. Both of them had their eyes closed so it took them a minute to realize he was there. When Jaina finally opened her eyes, Jag was surprised she didn't scream. He did laugh then, at the look on her face. Alanna's eyes flew open and she giggled when she looked at Jaina too.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your concert ladies, but I have to leave and didn't want to do so without saying good night." He told her as he tried to contain his mirth. The last thing he wanted was Jaina to be mad at him right now. Alanna ran over to give him a hug and he promised to see her again before she left. She ran past him into the living room, leaving Jaina still unable to form a word.

"Thank you for letting me be here tonight." He told her quietly. She actually gave him a smile and moved over in his direction.

"Well, we're still friends right?" She responded, echoing his earlier comments. He nodded and she smirked then. "Besides, if you tell anyone about what you just saw, I'll run you through with my light saber." She added as she walked down the hall, his laughter following her the whole way.


	13. Chapter 13

**Post 13**

_A few days later…_

"You know Jaina's lifeday is coming up, right?" Kyp asked his roommate as they started their run. Jag just nodded and Kyp left it at that for the moment. He had been granted a couple of days off from Luke to go sleep in his own bed and take care of anything he needed to do. Bela was out of town for three weeks and Jared had assured the master that he could handle security for Jade for a couple of days. She had no plans to leave the house right now and no work that needed to be done right away.

Jared had smirked at him when he had told the man he needed some time away from Jade. He liked the guy, but at that moment he had wanted to punch him. The young guard had to see that something was happening between him and Jade, but he didn't say anything. Actually, he felt Jared's amusement when he and Jade got into any 'discussion'.

They ran in silence for about 30 minutes before Kyp decided to talk again.

"You coming to the bar tonight?" He asked him as they stopped at a crosswalk to let what little traffic was out this time of morning go by. Jag took a deep breath and slowly let it out, his gaze meeting Kyp's.

"I was planning on it," Kyp nodded, and they continued in silence, not bringing the subject up again.

* * *

Kyp and Jag were the last ones to arrive at the bar that night. When they finally made it over to the table through the crush of bodies Kyp chuckled to himself. The table was already littered with ale and shot glasses and it looked to him that pretty much everyone at the table was feeling good from the spirits they had already indulged in. He and Jag pulled over some chairs from a nearby table and straddled them at the only remaining side of the booth that wasn't filled.

Jaina was already drunk, that much he could tell. She was laughing at something someone had said, and her eyes had a glassy sheen to them. To her left sat Myri, Jake Storm and Valin. To her right sat Ben and Zekk. The waitress came over to deposit the latest round of drinks and the boys put their order in.

Kyp looked over at Zekk and raised an eyebrow. The Jedi knight leaned over and spoke loud enough that only they could hear.

"She's been here for two hours."

"Two hours?" They echoed at the same time.

He nodded and sat back against his seat. Jaina looked over and finally acknowledged them.

"Nice of you two to finally grace us with your presence." She told them cheekily.

"Sorry, Goddess. We mortals humbly beg your forgiveness." Kyp said as he bowed his head. Jag snickered.

"We do?" he asked, garnering laughter from the rest of the table.

* * *

_A few hours later….  
_  
"All right, Goddess. It's time for you to go home and pass out." Kyp announced finally. He could tell she was tired and it was more than past time for her to stop. At this point she wasn't going to be able to walk home on her own.

Myri, Valin and Jake had already left, considering they all had to get up and work in the morning. Ben and Zekk were in the process of leaving and Jag was standing at the side of the table with his arms crossed, watching Kyp try to get Jaina out of the booth.

"I'm guessing you're not going to help me." Kyp told him with a glare.

Jag laughed. "Nah, you're having enough fun for both of us." Ben and Zekk both laughed and Kyp felt the urge to smack them all upside the head. Instead,  
he worked on getting Jaina to help herself out of the booth, whereupon she promptly collapsed against him.

"Hope you had a happy lifeday, Goddess. Not sure you're going to remember it in the morning." He mumbled and heard her giggle from where her face was pressed against his chest. Rolling his eyes, he tugged one of her arms so that it was around his waist and proceeded to leave the bar. The other three men followed, trying to keep their laughter subdued. Once they made it outside, Ben and Zekk said their goodbyes, each heading to somewhere else besides the temple.

Kyp and Jag walked along in silence. Thankfully the bar wasn't that far from the temple so they didn't have far to drag Jaina. They were at the top step about to go inside the temple, when Kyp's comm went off. Reaching down, he answered it.

"Durron."

"Kyp, where are you right now?" Jared's voice came through and the two men looked at each other. This wouldn't be good.

"What's wrong?" He asked, shifting Jaina's weight so he could stand up a little straighter. Jag offered to take her and Kyp let him.

"Someone fired a shot into the house. Jade's fine, and I can't see anything from the cameras. Since it's just me here I was hoping you would check around outside quickly. I don't want to leave her alone."

"Is she ok?" Jag raised an eyebrow at Kyp's tone. If he didn't know better, he would say his friend's voice was a little strained.

"Yeah, she's just shaken up. I have her locked in the security office."

Kyp ran his hand over his face and took a deep breath. "I'll be there in about 20 minutes." He told Jared, then cut the signal.

"I'll get her to her room." Jag told Kyp as the master tried to take Jaina back from him. When he didn't respond, Jag looked up and found Kyp giving him a weird look. He rolled his eyes.

"Go!" Kyp hesitated for just a moment, then turned and ran back down the steps. Shaking his head, Jag started down the hall, a quiet Jaina trying her hardest to keep from falling down. He heard her giggle and couldn't help but smile.

A few moments later they arrived at her door. Jag leaned her against the wall and propped her up, his hand against her stomach as he tried to keep her from falling down to the floor. He winced as she raised her head from her chest and smacked it on the wall behind her.

"Ouch." She mumbled. He started to put the numbers into the lock and stopped.

"Is your code the same?" He asked her quietly, silently hoping no one would walk by and see her in this state. She didn't answer for a minute and he thought she might have fallen asleep. Then she answered.

"No, it's different. Try 0742." She told him quietly. He started to punch the numbers in and stopped, realizing what the numbers meant. It was too much of a coincidence that she had randomly picked them. He looked over at her and searched her face. She opened one eye to look at him.

"What's wrong? Won't it work?" Jaina asked, furrowing her brow.

Gathering himself, he turned back to the lock and punched the numbers in. When the door swooshed open, instead of trying to get her moving again, he just picked her up. Normally she would have protested, but she was too far-gone to say anything right now.

Still not saying anything, he quietly padded to her room and didn't bother to turn the light on. There was really no need to because she had left her blinds open and the moonlight along with the lights from the street bathing everything in their glow. Jag set her feet on the floor and helped her sit down on the bed. Before he could help her further she fell to her side on the bed and sighed. Jag lifted her legs up so she was lying down and started to take her boots off. Moving to sit them over to the side, he grabbed the blanket she kept rolled up at the foot of the bed and covered her up.

He settled the blankets around her and then started to straighten up when she grabbed his arm.

"Aren't you going to take my clothes off?" He heard her ask him sleepily. Her eyes opened and while they were still glassy he saw something in them he hadn't seen in a while. At least not for him.

"I don't think that would be a good idea Goddess." He whispered, not daring to move. A huge grin formed on her face and he felt her hand move from his arm to his shoulder. He should move. He should leave. He should run screaming from her room. But he stood still, soaking in every bit of her touch. Every bit of her presence. Gently he sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed.

They stared at one another for what seemed like hours, but he knew it was only minutes. She hadn't moved her hand from his shoulder, in fact, it was now moving up and over to his neck. His brain was telling him to run, but he let his heart rule.

He wasn't sure who moved first, but suddenly he found himself kissing her and everything else faded away. Jag's hands became entangled in her hair and he felt her arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer. Using her weight, she fell back onto the bed and brought him with her. Jag offered no resistance, one hand leaving her hair to brace himself so he wasn't laying fully on her.

Jaina's tongue snaked into his mouth and he felt his stomach twist. Her kisses still had the ability to bring him to his knees. Slowly, he trailed kisses down the line of her jaw to nuzzle her ear then worked his way down her neck. He heard her growl in frustration as he sucked gently on the skin over her collarbone and fought the urge to laugh as she tried to drag his lips back to hers.

She captured his mouth again and he knew he had to stop this while he still had the ability to do so. Making his kisses more gentle, he finally found the strength to pull his mouth away from hers. As he pulled away, she sucked his bottom lip with hers and Jag fought back a groan. She tried to pull him back to her, but he stopped her.

"No Jaina. Go to sleep." He admonished her softly. Her eyes were closed, but the frown on her face was intense. Jag sat there watching her until he was sure she had fallen asleep. When he looked at his chrono, he saw that it was two hours later and he mentally kicked himself. Tucking the covers back around her and placing a kiss on her forehead, he stood up and left the room.

* * *

Kyp was sure he had sped the whole way to the house, and he really didn't care. He had barely put the speeder in park when he jumped out and bounded up the steps. Using the force, he had the front door open before he even got there and was greeted by a surprised Jared.

"That was a fast 20 minutes." He commented, as a smile came to his face.

Kyp glared at him, then started down the hall towards the security office. He heard the young man behind him but didn't say anything. Slapping the door open, he walked in and found her. She was sitting at the table in front of the monitors, her legs pulled up to her chest and slightly rocking back and forth.

"What happened?" Kyp asked, not really talking to anyone in particular, just asking the question that had been pounding at his brain since he had gotten the call from Jared. Jade turned around at the sound of his voice and he saw that she had been crying. He made no move to go to her though. Jared came around to stand between them and cleared his throat.

"We were sitting in the living room, Jade was working on something and I was reading a book when the glass in the doors shattered."

Kyp transferred his gaze to Jared. "You're both ok?" When Jared nodded, Kyp finally took a deep breath and sat down in a chair near him. Jade hadn't moved from where she was. Kyp's heart was pounding in his chest and he fought to control it. He wouldn't be any good if he couldn't calm down.

"I didn't go outside, since it was just me. I locked the house down and then brought her in here." Kyp nodded, then looked back over at Jade. She gave him a small smile, but he could feel her fear in the force. This was the second time she had been shot at and the third 'attack' against her. It unnerved her, not that he could blame her.

He stood and unclipped his light saber from his belt. "Stay here. Both of you. I'll be right back." Then he left the room.

* * *

"_Soooo…." _

_Jade looked up at Jared, wondering what he was thinking. Actually, she probably didn't want to know, now that she thought about it. _

"_You're gonna make Kyp go to the ball." _

_She just stared at him, not sure how she wanted to answer that. Of course she wanted him to go. She would feel so much safer if he went. If she was honest with herself, she knew it wasn't for that reason alone. Jade was extremely curious on how he would look dressed up and how it would feel to have him all to herself all night. It was so dangerous for her to have those thoughts though. She chastised herself for going there and focused on Jared again. _

"_Somehow, I don't think I can make Kyp do anything. You on the other hand, I have no problem ordering around." _

"_You don't seem to have an issue with doing it with him either." He mumbled, then looked back up to see if she had heard him. The glare she sent his way told him she had. Jared just smiled and was about to say something when the windows to the back door shattered. _

_He heard Jade scream right before he vaulted over the table and dragged her to the floor, bringing his blaster up at the same time. It was too open in here, he thought to himself. When no shots followed, he stood up and pulled Jade down the hall, keeping himself between her and the back yard until they got to the security office. He gently pushed her in and locked the door behind him. Jared momentarily forgot about her as he moved into work mode. Running over to the monitors, he searched for any sign of life outside the house. _

_Finding none, he went over to the controls and rewound the footage for a few minutes ago, searching for something out of the ordinary on it. Nothing. The only thing he saw was the blaster shot coming from the back property line. Cursing under his breath, he turned around to find Jade had taken a seat and was in shock. He was getting a little tired of this. They needed to catch Bela in the act soon. He wasn't sure his nerves were going to last long enough if they didn't. _

_Jared reached down for his comm unit and dialed Kyp. _

* * *

Kyp slowly made his way around the yard, starting at the back door. He stretched his senses out as far as he could, trying to find anything or anyone close by. He found nothing.

"Damn it." He mumbled to himself. Maybe Jared had found something on the video feed. He completed a circuit of the yard before walking back inside. The door opened before he got there and he shot the man a glare.

"Kyp, I could see you on the cameras. I knew you were coming down the hall. Don't give me any crap right now."

"Did you look at the video yet?" He asked, walking over to the control console. Jared joined them and they both watched it a few times coming to the same conclusion. They weren't going to get anything from it. The person had hidden too well and had been able to get away quickly.

Sensing the Master's anger, Jared made an excuse about boarding the windows up and left the room. Kyp leaned against the console and closed his eyes. This wasn't Bela. He knew it, but he had no idea who it could be. Granted, the man hadn't been quite so attentive to Jade lately, but he still didn't think him capable of this. Who in the hell wanted her dead? Or did they just want to scare her off? Kyp slammed his fist down on the panel and glared at the monitors in frustration.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his arm and whipped around reaching for his lightsaber when he realized it was Jade. Here she was, scared out of her mind and trying to comfort him. Sighing, he reached over to pull her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his neck. Again he found himself reaching out to her and it was just as confusing as last time. He focused on her for the moment. She needed this comfort right now, and he wasn't about to deny her.

They stood there for a few minutes, locked in each other's embrace. Kyp realized he was running his hand up and down her back and stopped. Jade moved her head up to look at him, and Kyp acted on instinct. The kiss was gentle, their lips barely pressed together. When she didn't protest, he brought one hand up to cup her cheek and increased the pressure. Jade curled her hands into the back of his tunic and he pulled her closer to him with the hand still on her waist.

He knew he should stop this, but he found himself extremely reluctant to do so. Now that he knew her taste, he had a feeling it was going to be nearly impossible to forget it. He felt her pulling away from him and tried not to groan from the loss of her lips against his. When he opened his eyes, he found her staring at him, her lips swollen slightly and face flush from the intimacy they had just shared.

"Ok. The door has been…" They jumped apart as Jared came back in the room. Kyp found his breathing hard to control as he looked at anywhere but Jade. The young guard stopped in his tracks when he saw how red Jade's face was and Kyp's normally calm façade anything but.

"Would you two like me to come back later?" He snarked, and had to duck when a datapad came flying his way. Kyp mumbled something about checking the grounds again and left the room. A bewildered Jade watched his retreating form and wondered how things had just changed between them. Hopefully, not for the worse.

* * *

Jaina was sitting on a lounge chair next to the pool, her sunglasses keeping the glare off her eyes, staring at the spectacle across from her. She crossed her arms in front of her and huffed. A chuckle came to her from her right and she reached out with the force and smacked Kyp upside the head. She smiled when she heard him yelp in pain.

"Not jealous are you, Goddess?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head to take the sting out.

"Why would I be jealous? He's not my boyfriend." She snapped back. Jaina knew Kyp could tell she was lying, but she didn't care. Her stomach protested and she tried to look away from the sight but couldn't.

Across the pool sat Jag Fel, but he wasn't alone. No, he was definitely not alone. He was surrounded by a group of women. Scantily clad women. Drop dead gorgeous women, at least 10 of them, were all vying for the man's attention. It was actually starting to make her sick. But she wasn't sure if she was sick from the image or the jealousy.

"If you keep your arms crossed like that, your tan is going to look weird Jaina." She reached out again and smacked her cousin Ben upside the head like she had Kyp. He was prepared though, and was able to block most of the force of her hit. She still managed to get a decent shot in, anyway.

Jaina just couldn't rip her eyes away from the sight of Jag right now. Trying to forget all the women clamoring around him, she focused on the man himself. He was sitting in a lounge chair similar to hers, in all his bare-chested, beautifully tanned, drool worthy glory. For a second, one of the girls leaned over him and blocked her view of him and she took the opportunity to close her eyes and gather her composure. Or at least try to. Even the backs of her eyelids were painted with the picture he presented, but thankfully minus the bimbos.

She imagined him pushing all the women away and standing up to look over at her instead. Shivers ran down her body as she imagined his gaze on her and suddenly, she didn't feel the heat from the sun. This was an entirely different kind of heat. Jaina could see him slowly walking around the edge of the pool, never taking his gaze off her. People in his path clearing a way for him as he stalked her like a Vornskr stalking its prey.

Suddenly, something was blocking the sun's rays and she opened her eyes to chastise them, when a small gasp escaped her. He was here. Standing in front of her, with his exquisitely sculpted abs and stomach, his beautiful face and his Imperial Red swim trunks, not leaving much to the imagination. The only thing she couldn't appreciate was his butt, but maybe she could do that when he went to sit back down.

"Hi." She squeaked out. He gave her a toothy grin and leaned down to brace himself on the arms of her chair, bringing the object of her obsession closer to her. Again she shivered and tried to form a coherent thought. Nope. Not gonna happen.

"Hi." He responded huskily. "I couldn't help but notice you looking my way." She couldn't see his eyes from behind his sunglasses, but she could feel him slowly looking her up and down. At some point she had uncrossed her arms and was now gripping the side of the chair, her hands just inches from his. The need to reach out and touch him was colossal. She realized he was waiting for a response, but her brain was still refusing to work with him being this close to her.

"You're drooling, Goddess." Kyp commented and was again smacked upside the head. She couldn't take her eyes off of Jag. He leaned closer and she imagined she could see the muscles in his arms flex with his movement and suddenly she found her hand reaching up to touch his arm.

"Um excuse me." Ben said to a scantily clad waitress walking by. "Can she get a bucket for her Jag drool." he asked her, pointing at his salivating cousin next to him. She heard a satisfied thwap, but her eyes never left Jag's.

They stared at each other for a moment, then he opened his mouth to say something. Words weren't coming out of his mouth though. His lips were moving, but what she was hearing was definitely not words. The sound came again and she wrinkled her brow in confusion.

Jaina sat straight up in bed, her alarm blaring from the table beside her. She darted her eyes around the room in confusion and suddenly realized it had all been a dream.

"What in the Sith!" She yelled, then winced as her head started ringing. Jaina fell back against the bed again and reached over to smack her alarm off. Groaning, she pulled the cover up over her head and cursed.

She lay there for a few minutes, trying to make the pounding in her head go away and was just about there when images from the previous night began to assault her. Jaina sat up again and threw the covers off her as she slipped on a pair of shoes and stalked out of her apartment.

* * *

Jag felt her before he saw her. He'd been waiting for her wrath all morning, and he was just glad they didn't have much of an audience right now. He was standing in the hall outside his room talking to Ben when she came around the corner and you could feel the air become electric. This was going to hurt.

Ben looked to where his cousin was coming down the hall and then looked back at Jag, with a question in his eyes. Jag said nothing, just pursed his lips together. She came to a halt in front of the men and you could almost see the anger rolling off her in waves.

"You kissed me last night." She all but shouted at him. He heard Ben snort from beside him and when he moved to look over her head to avoid her eyes he saw Zekk and Valin stop dead, eyebrows raised in shock. Jag cleared his throat and finally looked her in the eyes.

"Yes, I seem to remember that happening." He told her quietly. Ben hadn't moved from his side. Actually, Jag wondered if the young man was still breathing. He had to get Jaina out of the middle of the hall before the classes were excused. The last thing he wanted to happen was to have a hall full of people hear about how he had almost mauled her last night while she had been drunk.

"How…" He grabbed her arm and she stopped her tirade in shock.

"Let's go into my classroom and discuss this." He told her quietly, as he nodded at Ben then dragged her into the room. Jag stood just inside the door as he watched her stalk across the mat to the middle of the room. Her arms hung at her sides, hands fisted and he was suddenly glad he had no weapons in the room. Not that she really needed them, she was a weapon herself.

"You kissed me last night!" She shouted at him again.

"I think we've already established that Jaina. Can we move on?" He told her calmly.

She whirled to face him and he had the decency to wince at her stare. Walking back over to him she pushed him against the wall and got in his face as much as their height distance would allow.

"What were you thinking?" She ground out.

"I wasn't. Hence the discussion we are having at this moment." Jag's calm demeanor only served to infuriate her more.

"What right did you think you had to…"

"Damn it Jaina! You're the one who started the kiss!" He finally raised his voice at her. Her eyes widened and he sighed, bringing his hand up to rub his temples. She stepped back from him slightly and he slouched against the wall.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"You kissed me. I did finally come to my senses and leave." His calm had returned, but he was still frazzled. Closing his eyes, he dropped his chin to his chest and waited for her to process that.

"I couldn't have." She whispered.

"Jaina, you were drunk. Let's just forget about it." He said, as he stood up straight and walked back towards the middle of the room. He took deep breaths in an effort to control his pulse and the headache that was starting to form. It wasn't helping.

She was quiet for a minute before she spoke. "Did…anything else happen?"

He stopped in front of his desk and leaned on it.

"No. I left before it could, thankfully." Came his quiet reply. Since his back was to her, he didn't see her stiffen at his comment. She probably hadn't even realized that she had done it herself.

"Oh." Was all she said. Jag could have sworn he heard disappointment in her response, but surely he was mistaken.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you Jag. I'll just go now." And before he could even turn around she was gone. He stared at the door as it shut and felt his heart break…again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Post 14**

Jared came walking out of the security office the next morning and found Kyp sitting on the floor meditating. He started to walk into the kitchen and not say anything but then changed his mind at the last minute.

"So, what the kreth happened last night?" Jared asked, plopping down on the couch in front of Kyp. He crossed his arms and waited, knowing that the master had heard him. Taking a deep breath, Kyp finally opened his eyes and looked at him. It would be stupid to deny what he knew Jared had seen. He had a feeling the young man would call him out on it anyway.

"Stress."

Jared raised an eyebrow in question and looked at Kyp like he had just grown another head. "Stress?" Shaking his head, he got up chuckling. "Dude, the only "stress" was you two fighting the inevitable." Jared told him as he walked into the kitchen.

Well, that went well. Kyp thought to himself. He was actually surprised that Jared hadn't reamed him. Guess he shouldn't complain. Kyp closed his eyes again, and lost himself in the force. It was the only way to keep his mind off her.

An hour later, Jade made her way downstairs to find Kyp in the same place Jared had earlier. He looked so peaceful, that she didn't want to disturb him. Actually, this was a perfect opportunity to watch him. He had on his sleep pants and a white tshirt and she had to say that he filled the shirt out quite nicely. Jade shook her head and chastised herself. She had to forget about that kiss.

Who was she kidding? There was no way she could forget about it! It had kept her up for most of the night and she had finally convinced herself that it was just because they had been in a stressful situation. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she might actually believe it eventually.

"Can you teach me how to do that?"

"What, sit on the living room floor and sleep?" He asked with a smile.

She chuckled as she walked over to the couch and sat down. "You're not asleep."

"And you knew that how?"

"You may look like a statue, but your mind is working furiously. I could sense it from upstairs."

Kyp's eyes shot open and he regarded her for a moment. He hadn't really been shielding, so he shouldn't be surprised she picked up on his turmoil. Hopefully she hadn't been privy to his dreams last night. When he thought about it he'd been guarding her for a while, but they had never broached the subject of her force sensitivity.

"Do you really want to learn?" His gaze narrowed, wondering if she really wanted to go there. He touched her mind gently and found curiosity and an eagerness to learn. She nodded and he smiled.

"Have a seat." He told her. Jade scooted off the couch onto the floor in front of him and for the first time he wondered if this was a good idea. Her tank top and khaki pants weren't helping his issues any, but if she truly wanted to learn he wasn't about to say no. He would just have to try and keep his hormones in check.

She mirrored his pose and waited patiently for him to begin. Her knees were so close to his that they might as well be touching. It had to be his imagination that he could feel heat radiating off of her.

"Have you ever meditated before?" He asked, getting his mind back to the task.

"Yeah. But I've never used the force to do it, at least not consciously."

"Ok. First we'll working on clearing your mind and go from there." He instructed as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes flicked over her face as he felt her settle into a breathing rhythm. Kyp could feel the force flowing around her, but she hadn't reached for it. Gently, he prodded a few strands her way and watched her reaction when they made contact.

Jade's breathing deepened as the first strand slithered past her upper arm, but to her credit, she didn't jump. That meant on some level she had sensed it. He had a feeling she was more in tune with the force than she thought, but that it wasn't a conscious thing. Tempting fate, he took another strand and wound it past the side of her neck, barely brushing her skin. This time she shivered and he realized he was playing with fire. _Behave yourself Durron. _  
Deciding to stop playing, he wound another strand down her opposite shoulder, but her breathing didn't change. She was deep in a meditation, but it wasn't a force meditation.

_Can you feel it around you?_ Kyp asked quietly in her head.

_Yes. I don't know how to touch it though. I've tried and it just draws away from me. _

_Don't try so hard. Imagine it's a leaf on the wind and gently pull it towards you._

Her breathing changed slightly, but he could feel her trying to grasp the thread closest to her. She moved too fast though, and it slithered away. He heard her blow a breath out her nose and smiled.

_Don't try so hard. Move slowly. Be patient._ He offered as he felt her pull back and wait for another opportunity. A minute later he felt her reach tentatively out to the force strand and connect with it. A gasp escaped her and her eyes shot open. Kyp offered her a big grin and she returned it.

"Wow." Her hands were shaking, but she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "That was…wow."

"Pretty cool huh?" The master asked, his own enthusiasm matching hers. She nodded and he chuckled. "Ready to try again?"

"Yes Master." She snarked and took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Over the course of the next hour, Jade's ability to touch the force developed at a comfortable pace. She definitely wasn't one of the strongest force users he'd met, but she had potential. By the time they had completed the first lesson, the ambassador had managed to touch about a dozen strands and even start to manipulate them a little.

"Ok. I think you've had enough excitement for the day." Kyp told her as he stood and groaned when he felt and heard his back pop.

"You ok?" She asked as she looked at him with concern from her place on the floor.

The Jedi master smiled. "Yep. I'm just too old to be sitting on the floor for an hour." Kyp walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and rolled his neck to work out the kinks. Definitely too old. He heard Jade come into the kitchen behind him and turned to lean back against the counter. She walked over to get a bottle of water and Kyp unabashedly watched her tilt her head back to take a drink. He was going to need a cold shower after this.

Jade finished her drink and looked over to grace him with a smile. "What else can you teach me?"

"I've created a monster, haven't I?" He asked while rolling his eyes. Her only response was a laugh.

* * *

"So what's going on with you and the ambassador?" Jaina queried as she moved to block a strike from Kyp. He was silent as he moved through a series of blows against her. She angled her light saber up to block a move and their blades clashed noisily, their positions bringing them close together.

"That's an excellent question." Kyp finally answered as he moved back to let Jaina take the offensive. She slipped deeper into the force and managed to make Kyp take a few steps back before he leapt up and over her. Twisting her torso, she held her weapon to block his aerial attack and they began again.

"And the answer is?" She asked.

Kyp sidestepped a thrust attack from her and attacked her weak side. Performing a 180 he slashed his blade out to his right, reversing his grip on the pommel. Jaina blocked him and he was barely quick enough to avoid a kick to the back.

"No clue."

They lapsed into silence again as Jaina took position with a low guard while Kyp took the offensive again and moved to her right. She didn't take the bait, so he switched strategies again. In the middle of his series, he started talking again.

"What's going on with you and Jag?" Kyp countered.

Jaina moved to counter each of Kyp's actions as she thought about her response. She could have answered already but was stalling.

"Nothing."

Kyp thumbed his light saber off and took a moment to refresh himself.

"And whose fault is that."

She glared at him and he laughed, then reignited his weapon.

"Shall we?"

She answered him with her blade.

* * *

She sat the data pad down and rested her head on her desk. Jade was bored. Paperwork had been her constant companion today and she was finally at her wit's end. Kyp was supposed to pick her up in three hours at her office but she didn't feel like waiting.

Grabbing her comm link off her desk, she turned the light off and ventured into the outer office. Jared was sitting at her aide's desk looking as interested as she felt.

"What's wrong?" He asked, lowering his feet to the floor and reaching for his blaster.

"I'm bored and don't feel like waiting for Master Durron. Can you escort me to the temple? She asked with a slightly pleading look.

"Hmmmm. Let me think about it." He responded as he sat back in the chair and put his feet back up on the desk.

"Jared!"

The man laughed and moved from his position to open the door for Jade. They walked down the hall of the embassy out to where the speeder was parked. She climbed into the front seat next to him and he gave her a questioning look.

"What?" She asked innocently. Normally, she didn't ride in the front.

"Any particular reason you're restless today?" He said as he pulled out into traffic. Jared knew darn well why she was, but he wanted to hear her say it.

"No." She answered, then winced as she heard the defensiveness in her voice.

Jared was silent for a few moments and she found herself hoping he had dropped the subject. He hadn't.

"Master Durron seems to be doing a good job of keeping your butt out of trouble."

"Where the sith did that come from?" Jade blurted out.

"I like him." he continued, ignoring her question.

"He's not too bad." She quietly replied. When he looked over, he found a small smile on her face. Yep. She had it bad.

Before last night, he hadn't been sure there was anything going on between them, but he definitely couldn't blame her. He hadn't stayed in Bela's service this long for the Senator. He'd done it for Jade. She needed protection and a friend and he actually did like his job.

Jared had debated with himself about saying something to Jade about her husband, but he always talked himself out of it. He didn't want to cause any trouble and at first he wasn't even sure she would believe him. So he did what he could in protecting her. Edward had approved his request to be the primary guard assigned to her. In fact, the man had been happy to hand the job over to him. Jared was hoping between himself and the Jedi that she wouldn't need to be taking a bacta bath again anytime soon.

Pulling up to the entrance of the temple, Jared parked and got out to help Jade exit the speeder.

"You don't have to walk me in." She told him as he held the door, then closed it behind her.

"The last thing I want is Kyp taking my head off because I didn't make sure you got into the building." Jade chuckled at his point and they walked up the steps quickly.

There was no one at the front desk when they made their way inside. She placed her hand on his arm and smiled.

"I can find him on my own from here. Thank you Jared." She turned to walk down the hall when she felt the young man grip her shoulder. Jade looked back over her shoulder at him.

"Any time you need to talk, you know I'm here for you, right?" Jade nodded, then he smiled and turned to leave.

She watched him walk out the door, then turned to find her wayward guardian.

Taking the left hallway, Jade reached out to see if she was on the right track and nearly jumped when she came across his bright presence. He was very intense, but she didn't think he was angry. Of course he could be going Sith and she probably wouldn't know the difference. Touching a handful of strands this morning didn't automatically make her a jedi.

Two hallways were passed before she stopped at a set of double doors. Carefully, she opened one enough to slip quietly inside and closed it with minimum noise. Sounds of a struggle reached her ears and when she turned the corner she stopped in awe.

Jade had seen plenty of light saber duels on the holonet before and had thought it very impressive. Apparently it was nothing like seeing one in person. She stood there transfixed by the exquisite dance that was happening in the middle of the room. How long she stood there was anyone's guess, but she found herself unable to turn away.

A ripple of amusement drifted from her right and when she turned to find its source she could just make out a figure seated in the very top of the bleachers. He was drenched in shadows, but she could feel the barest hint of him in the force. Squinting her eyes she realized who it was.

Slowly and quietly, she made her way over to where he sat and continued to watch the display. Neither spoke for a long time as the dance continued.

"I'm going to assume he's not expecting you." Fel asked quietly.

"You know what they say about assuming." She offered and he chuckled.

"You're brave, Ambassador."

"Or stupid."

Jag looked at her and gave the barest of smiles. "No, Kyp would have throttled you already."

"Not sure that's comforting." She mumbled.

They lapsed into silence again. The activity on the floor intensified and Jade started to feel some residual effects in the force from the efforts coming off of the two Jedi. They were putting everything they had into the fight and probably weren't even aware of what was emanating from them.

"How long have they been at this?" She asked breaking the silence.

"An hour." He whispered. "They should be about done. I'm exhausted just watching them."

Jaina completed a final flurry of moves when Kyp finally called it.

"I'm done Goddess." He told her breathlessly as he turned his blade off. Kneeling down on the mat, he rested his hands on his thighs and fought to catch his breath. He hadn't delved that deeply into the force in a long time, but it had felt good.

Looking over at Jaina, he found a huge grin on her face and found himself mirroring it.

"Not too bad, old man."

"Old?" He asked as he quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not dead yet, my dear."

A noise from their left spurred both of them into action, despite their fatigue. Over the hum of their now activated weapons, Kyp identified the sound as applause and lowered his weapon when he saw Jag coming down to the bottom of the bleachers. It was the person who was right behind him that made his eyes go wide.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded as he stalked over towards them. Jag rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket to pull out some credits. Handing them to Jade he heard Jaina chuckle in front of them.

"What was that for?" Jaina asked the former pilot when she came to stand next to Kyp.

"The ambassador bet me that Kyp would say something like that before he greeted us."

"How did you get here?" Kyp asked, ignoring his friends as he grilled the woman he was supposed to be guarding.

Raising an elegant eyebrow, Jade crossed her arms and gave him a smirk.

"Nice to see you too, Kyp. I'm just fine, thanks. How are you?"

"Please tell me you didn't come over here by yourself, because I will have to personally hurt Jared if you did." He told her, not amused by her antics.

Jaina and Jag shared a smile as they watched the drama unfold. Jag reclaimed a seat and was joined a second later by Jaina.

"For your information, I've been working all day and I was bored out of my mind. Jared was nice enough to put me out of my misery and escort me over here. I'm sorry if that bothers you so much." She threw back as she moved to the floor and headed towards the door.

Kyp resisted the urge to rage as he turned from watching Jade walk out of the room to find his two best friends smiling at him.

"Shut up." He spat at them as he followed his charge.

They waited until he was gone from the room to speak.

"Well." Jaina started. "That was interesting."

"Very." Jag offered.

She turned to look at him and frowned. "Is that all you have to offer?"

"Did you want me to sing a song and do a reenactment? I think you'll be waiting a little while if you do." he snarked.

Jaina sighed and leaned forward so her elbows rested on her knees.

"I know. I was just hoping you might know what was going on."

Jag shook his head. "Nope."

* * *

Kyp followed Jade wordlessly, as she stalked out of the temple. When she stopped at the bottom of the steps, he pulled up to stand beside her and chanced a glance at her. He had so not handled that well. Now he had to fix it. Sighing, he looked straight ahead and tried to think of something to say.

"I'm sorry." He told her quietly. Well that was eloquent Durron. His consciousness told him. Jade didn't say anything as the speeder pulled up to the curb. Reaching for the door, he opened it and she slipped in, still mute. After a few seconds hesitation he joined her and shut the door. Kyp'd gaze met Jared's and when the young man raised an eyebrow at him, he just shook his head slightly.

The ride to the house was quiet. Kyp was trying to think of something to fix his faux pau and Jade was trying to keep her anger in check. Jared was just enjoying the show unabashedly. They made it home and Jade walked up to her office. Kyp stood at the bottom of the steps for a minute trying to decide if he wanted to have this confrontation right now.

A few minutes later he found himself in her office, staring at her back. He felt the anger rippling off her and tried to distract himself. His gaze fell a little lower than her back and he suddenly looked away. That was definitely not a good idea. The last thing he needed was his hormones coming into the picture.

"You're mad at me." He said quietly. Kyp was not prepared for the speed with which she rounded on him or the anger in her eyes. He knew she was angry, but this was unexpected.

"Mad at you? Now why would I be mad at you Captain Obvious? You only embarrassed me in front of two people I'd never met before who also happen to be good friends of yours. No, I'm not mad. How could I be." She spat out at him. Kyp had the decency to not say anything. He didn't think a glib remark would be doing him any good right now.

"While I appreciate that you've saved my ass more than once, I don't appreciate being treated like an idiot."

"Why didn't you call me? I would have come and got you." He told her quietly, not having moved from his place by the door.

Jade closed her eyes, and he could feel her trying to calm down. He wasn't sure how they had gotten to this point, but he knew he didn't like it. Kyp swore it was like arguing with Jaina.

"Look, I said I was sorry. I don't know how else to let you know that. I panicked when I saw you there and a million different scenarios of you getting attacked ran through my head." He told her, keeping his voice down when he certainly didn't feel it.

"I need to lie down." She said, as she walked past him, never making eye contact. Kyp brought a hand up to rub his eyes. He needed a drink. But he would settle for a talk right now.

* * *

"Are you alone?"

"Should I not be?"

"Jagged. I'm being serious." Kyp said as he glared at his friend over the comm.

"So am I." He retorted. When Kyp gave him his best 'Jedi master' look, Jag chuckled. "Jaina left a few minutes after you two ended your show."

"How have you not killed her yet?"

"Who, Jaina?" Kyp nodded and Jag shrugged. "I've thought about it over the years, but besides the face she can kick my ass with the force, it's not really an option. When you love somebody, you deal with their…issues."

Kyp looked confused. "What the hell have you been doing for the last five years then? Cataloging them so you have a better understanding?"

"Do you want to talk about your issue or berate me?" Jag shot back.

Kyp clenched his jaw shut and sighed. "Go on." He told Jag dismissedly.

"Something happen between the two of you?"

"Yeah."

Jag waited for him to say more. "You gonna tell me?"

"We kissed."

"Like a peck on the cheek kiss? Or a raging hormones kiss?" Jag asked.

"Like a, she almost got killed again, we happened to be in the same room, what the hell kiss."

Jag raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Is that what you're telling yourself?" He laughed outright then. "Man, you got it bad."

"What?"

"Come on, Kyp. You like the ambassador. Just admit it to yourself and move on"

Kyp said nothing, just dropped his head into his hands. Jag was right, but he had no clue what to do about it.

"What in the worlds am I supposed to do?" He asked himself, more than Jag.

Jag just snorted. "You're asking me? I'm not sure my track record is the best my friend. Look, I don't know what's going on with this whole 'protector' thing you're doing and I understand you can't tell me. Let's just say that I have a feeling that she's not going to be attached at the end of the year." Jag paused to allow Kyp to say something. When the master didn't, he continued. "The only advice I can offer you, is just go with the flow. She's got to  
be majorly confused right now between the attacks and that kiss. Just be patient and give her time."

"We may not have time." Kyp whispered to himself.

Suna walked down the hall quietly. It was the middle of the day and almost everyone was gone, but the help. Conveniently, she just happened to fit the bill of the latter. She and Chaz had followed Bela to his latest conference and for once, the Senator had rewarded them with a side trip. Their search had landed them on a mid-rim, temperate planet a day ago. Bela had landed and made his way to a sprawling house a little ways out of town and Chaz had finally come up with the idea of her posing as a maid. She would just have to hope that the turnover rate was high enough that no one would notice she didn't belong.

Half of the house had been searched so far and she had come across nothing. Chaz was looking into who owned the property and anything else he could find out. Looking up and down the hall, she tried another door and was rewarded with it being unlocked. It was a child's room, decorated in Bantha cubs and Ewoks. Suna shook her head. Poor kid.

She turned to leave the room when a holo caught her eye. Walking over to the dresser she picked it up and felt like she had been sucker punched. It was a picture of a family. A mother, a son and a father. At least she assumed he was the father. Looking around on the dresser she found a small comb that was probably used on the boy. She pulled out an evidence bag and slipped a few hairs into it. Suna started to leave the room, but turned back to look at the holo one more time. She shook her head and continued her search of the remaining rooms.


	15. Chapter 15

Post 15

_Two days later…._

"How well do you know how to defend yourself?" Kyp asked her quietly, as they finished their dinner.

Jade looked at him quizzically. "You mean like self-defense techniques? Getting away from an attacker, etc."

Kyp nodded and she returned the gesture.

"We had to take basic self-defense to join the air force. It's been a while since I've practiced them though. Why?" She asked as she stood to clear the table. "You worried someone is going to make the attacks more personal?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kyp leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat. "Not necessarily, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared. The attacks are confusing me and I would rather be safe than sorry right now. I would feel better if you could at least get away from someone who was attacking you." He looked over at her and found she was standing at the sink, staring out the window. Standing up, he walked over and waited patiently for her to respond.

"Ok. If that's what you think I should do." She answered quietly, turning around to face him. "Are you going to do it?"

Kyp chuckled and shook his head. "No. Not that I can't, but I have someone better in mind." He searched her eyes for a moment, before his gaze dipped down to her mouth. Jade felt her pulse speed up in anticipation and unconsciously licked her lips. Bringing one hand up to touch her cheek, he moved closer and was glad she didn't move away from him.

"Kyp, this isn't a good idea." She said breathlessly, not having the ability to move.

"No it's not." He responded, just before his lips brushed hers. Jade gripped the counter to keep from falling over. The kiss wasn't mind-blowing, but sweet and very gentle. It still had the power to make her head swim though.

"Hey, what do you guys have planned…" Kyp broke the kiss as Jared came into the kitchen and turned to give his friend an irritated glance.

"Why is it that I keep walking in on your guys?" He joked, not backing out of the kitchen like a normal person would. Oh no. He was enjoying this.

"Maybe you should stop walking in on us then." Kyp threw back.

"Maybe you two should get a room. There's plenty of them in this house."

Jade shook her head and turned to leave the room.

"Maybe you two should grow up." She called back to them as she left the room. They said nothing as they watched her leave, Kyp watching a different part leaving than Jared. The younger man looked over at him and grinned. Oh yeah. Kyp had it bad.

/____________________________________\

"Hey sis."

Jaina jumped out of her skin and was sure she screamed when the voice spoke. She had just gotten home and was thinking of taking a nice long bath when she turned to find not one, but both of her brothers across the room. Their force ghosts shimmered in the near dark bedroom and she leaned against the wall as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. It had been five years since she had last seen Jacen and three times that since she had set eyes upon her youngest brother. When her brain finally started processing what she was seeing, tears came to her eyes and she slid down to the floor to wrap her arms around her knees.

"Hey." She answered them weakly. She had resigned herself to the fact she would never see them again and with them now before her, she was overwhelmed. The knowledge of being the final Solo child weighed heavily on her conscious every day. It was something she didn't like to dwell on.

"You're probably wondering why we're here." Anakin said as she nodded mutely. Actually, she hadn't been thinking period since her brain had stopped working, but it sounded like a good place to start.

"We're here to tell you to stop being so stubborn." Jacen interjected. Jaina nearly choked on her own spit.

"You're kriffing kidding me? I wait this long for you two to show up and you're here to chastise me?" She managed to eek out. They both gave her a lopsided grin and she rolled her eyes. Of course. This was so her luck.

"What am I being stubborn about?" She asked sarcastically, cocking her head in annoyance like she had always done with them.

"Well, we don't have time to go into THAT much detail…"

"Anakin!"

"We're mainly here about Jag." Jacen offered.

Jaina groaned and plopped her head down on her knees. She should have known. Of course her little brothers would show up to give her grief about Jag. She gave herself grief about him. Somewhere inside she knew that she was screwing things up but she didn't know how to fix it. She'd been riding on the edge for so long she wasn't sure she knew how to live another way. Jag offered her a haven in the storm, but she didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain. All this she knew, but still she was horrible to him and to herself.

"Jaina, it's not too late. You have to know he still loves you." Anakin told her softly as her tears started to flow. She looked up again and gave him a small smile.

"How can he still love me after all the crap we've been through?" She whispered, more to herself than them. She knew he did, but she didn't understand it. Jaina felt she was unworthy of the love he had for her, which is why she fought it so much. Surely, after all she'd done to him and other people in her life, she didn't deserve to be happy.

"But you do Jaya. You deserve it so much more than you know." Jacen's voice came from next to her. She looked up and found him kneeling at her side.

"I miss you." She whispered, then looked over at Anakin. "Both of you."

"We know, but you have to move on sis. Jag needs you and you need him. Stop fighting it." Anakin said as he walked over to his siblings.

"How?" She breathed the word.

"Stop being afraid." Anakin told her, kneeling on her other side. "You trust Jag, don't you?"

"Yes. He's not the problem." She responded.

Jacen laughed. "Duh." Jaina shot him a glare then smiled herself. What she wouldn't give to hug them one last time, but they were right. It was time to move on.

"I love you." She told them both quietly, a fresh batch of tears coming to her.

"We love you too dork. Now fix this so we can all be happy." Anakin joked, then they were gone and Jaina was left with her tears and a small spark of hope igniting in her heart.

/____________________________________\

They slipped into the back of the room since class had already started. Jag was just finishing up his roll call as they sat down on the bleachers. He didn't look up to acknowledge their entrance, but Kyp knew he had heard them enter the room. Getting comfortable, Kyp stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back against the wall. Next to him, Jade crossed her legs under her and leaned her elbows on her knees, ready to soak up any knowledge she could. Not for the first time, Kyp was impressed by her ability to learn anything that would improve her situation or just give her knowledge. Her ability to adapt was unique among her peers and he suspected that was why she was so good at what she did. Among other things.

This was one of Jag's new Ronto classes. The 8 – 10 year olds had been taught the basics of the Force but weren't yet ready to be an apprentice. It was actually a spot in the young initiates training that Luke had been trying to fill for quite a while. Jag's offer of help had been just the thing, so he offered the position to him.

Jag was extremely good at this not only because of his Chiss training and military experience, but because you didn't need to be force sensitive to learn or teach this aspect of defense. Luke had been impressed with the results of the young man's training, but wasn't surprised.

His casual demeanor at the front of the room was meant to lull the students into a false sense of security. Leaning against a cabinet he slowly looked over his class and waited for them to quiet down. Kyp knew he would start off harsh and many of the students would not like him for a few weeks. He pushed hard and wasn't here to make friends. Though by the end of the first term most of the students would think he was the greatest thing since a lightsaber.

"Now I know that some of you have come in here today thinking I'm going to teach you some new move you've seen on the holonet and that you're going to be able to look cool in front of your friends. If that's what you think, then you're going to be sorely disappointed. You are not here to learn how to kill someone, or to enhance your egos. You're here to learn things that will be a supplement to your future lightsaber training." Jag paused and allowed what he had said to sink in. He scanned the children in the room and satisfied they were now listening to him, he continued.

"By the end of this course you will be able to observe your opponent and know instinctively which defense or offense to perform. Having the Force will help you with this, but your basic gut reactions are what will drive you to know what to do. A combination of awareness in one's surroundings and an understanding of one's own physical body come into play with any combat you find yourself in. Utilizing balance, focusing force and knowing how to take advantage of an attacker's own momentum and weight will be invaluable skills that you will learn."

Jag paused again and tried to hide the smile that threatened. He had their attention now.

"The first rule of most hand to hand combat tactics is self awareness and keeping a cool head during a fight. This is incredibly important because sometimes we let our adrenaline rushes cloud our judgement and that allows our emotions to come into play when we don't want them to. So, learning proper focus and breathing techniques at the beginning of any hand to hand combat lesson is vital to your success. That is the first thing we are going to cover today. I want everyone to break up into groups of three and start practicing. If you need help let me know."

Kyp watched as the students broke into groups and started with their lesson. Some of them were very good, others had a ways to go. At the end of the course they would all be proficient in what Jag taught them. He believed that anyone could be taught defense and made sure every one of his students was ready before they were allowed to move on. Jag walked over to where he and Jade were sitting and climbed to sit on the row of benches in front of them.

"I love how you open your classes." Kyp told him as the trio watched the kids for a few moments. "Sometimes I think you thrive on disappointing them."

Jag laughed and turned to face them. "Sometimes I think so too. What brings you two here? You're not here just because you're bored." He winked at Jade.

"No, definitely not. I was wondering if you had time for some one on one instruction. I forgot to ask you what your class load was like."

"Seeing as how you're never home anymore I'm not surprised." The younger man taunted.

"Honey, we've been over this before." Jade stifled a giggle beside him. "I have work to do. It doesn't mean I don't love you."

The former Chiss colonel raised an eyebrow in question and turned to look at Jade. "I assume it's for you and not him. Since he already knows how to get his ass kicked." Jade laughed outright as Kyp tried to push his friend off the bench and was unsuccessful. She nodded and he looked thoughtful again.

"I could probably do it tomorrow night. Is that too soon?" He asked as he and Kyp awaited her answer.

"No, that would work perfectly. I don't have anything planned." Jag nodded and turned to Kyp.

"You'll be accompanying her?" Kyp smiled and Jag didn't say anything. "Then meet me here at 1900 hours. My last class is over then."

Jag climbed down the bleachers and rejoined his class as the two slipped out quietly. No words were exchanged as they made their way back outside to the speeder.

"So you and Fel huh." Jade asked and then snorted as Kyp missed a step when she asked her question.

"It's just a joke." He hastily told her as they climbed into the speeder. The door shut and Jared immediately took off.

"Uh huh."

"Seriously. Jag and I might be roommates but…" He stopped when her hand rested on his arm. A mischievous smile jumped to her face.

"I'm just joking Kyp. Don't get your cape all in a bundle." She told him as she turned back towards the front of the speeder. He mirrored her move and felt the corner of his mouth turn up.

"So is Fel as good as I've heard?"

Kyp let a full-blown smile come to his face then. "Nope. He's better."

/____________________________________\

He had just finished going over his lesson plan for the afternoon when he heard a soft knock. Looking up, Jag saw Jaina standing in the doorway to his office. She was leaning against the doorframe, a small smile on her face. He braced himself for the storm that was possible.

"Hi." She said quietly.

"Hi yourself."

"You free for lunch?" Jaina asked and Jag was sure he stopped breathing for a minute. He raised an eyebrow at her out of habit. Jaina just laughed and walked over to lean over his desk, her face close to his. "I'm not going to yell at you. I promise I'll be totally civil."

He stared at her for a moment longer, then put down the datapad and smiled.

"I might be able to be persuaded to have lunch." He threw back at her, wondering where this was going. Jag actually wanted to make a snide comment about who she was and what she had done with the real Jaina, but he refrained. She was obviously in a good mood and he wanted to keep it that way.

Before he could form another coherant thought, Jaina leaned forward and kissed him. His eyes widened in shock and he froze for a moment before his brain kicked in. Reaching up he palmed the back of her head and took an active role in the kiss. Jaina didn't resist, letting him set the pace. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but finally they broke apart. She was practically on top of his desk now, her eyes heavy lidded and a smile on her face. He hesitated for a moment, before he reached up and pulled her over onto his lap. Jaina squealed in shock, but didn't fight him as he wrapped his arms around her. Laying her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and sighed. She had missed this. She had missed this and it had been her own damn fault and it had taken her two dead brothers to bring her to her senses.

Jaina lifted her head and softly kissed his neck, feeling his heartbeat beneath her lips. His grip on her tightened and he sucked a shaky breath in, but she just smiled. She placed a few more before he finally spoke.

"Jaina?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you doing?" He asked, voice shaky with emotion. Jaina smiled wider realizing she had broken through his defenses.

"I'm seducing you Jagged. Now be quiet and let me finish." She admonished him softly as she flicked her tongue over his pulse. Jagged sucked in a breath again and squeezed his eyes shut.

"As you command, my Goddess."

/____________________________________\

"Kyp says that you've had basic self-defense training skills." Jag asked the ambassador as he watched the last of his students leave the room.

"Yeah, but it's been years ago. I'm not even sure if I would remember half of it." She said jokingly. He gave her a small smile and walked out to the middle of the floor. Silently she followed.

"Let's see how much you remember." Jag's arm shot to her throat as if to grab her neck and she instinctively moved to counter him. Wrapping the fingers of her left hand around his wrist she added her right hand for leverage and twisted his arm until he let go. Without speaking he jumped into the next move, trying to keep her off guard. For the next few minutes Jag was a flurry of activity as he evaluated what exactly he had to work with. Jade blocked about half of his attempts but when she didn't, he just kept going and surprisingly she was able to keep up.

After his final attempt he sat back on the mat and regarded her critically. She wasn't totally helpless but he could see a lot of room for improvement. Her breathing was a little hard but she really hadn't had time to prepare for his attacks so he could excuse that.

"So, what's the verdict?" She asked breathlessly.

"Not bad ambassador. You have a lot to learn, but it's doable." He couldn't help but smile back as she grinned like one of his students.

/____________________________________\

Jade was sitting on the couch, reading a book when the door chime sounded. She hesitated a moment, before she got up to answer it. Jared was in the security office watching the monitors and he would have told her if she shouldn't answer the door. She looked down the hall anyway and smiled when she saw him standing there giving her a thumbs up.

She laughed and opened the door to find Iella standing there. Her friend stepped into the house and she enveloped her in a hug before the door even shut.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been over to visit lately." Iella told her as Jade pulled back from their hug.

"You've been a little busy I would imagine." Jade reassured her friend as she motioned her into the living room and they made themselves comfortable on the couch. "Is everything ok?" Jade asked, suddenly concerned. She felt a presence brush her mind and figured it was probably Kyp. Ever since he had started training her she had started to notice things she had never paid attention to before. She apparently had been accessing the force unconsciously, so it had been easy for him to teach her things. Right now he was patroling the grounds. Something he had taken to doing a few times a day. She was a little worried at this gesture, but also touched. It meant that he cared.

"No, everything is fine." Iella said, bringing Jade back to the present. "I just wanted to check in on you and make sure everything was ok on this front."

Jade smiled. "Everything is fine. No attacks this week." Jade grinned.

"Well, I'm glad you're taking it seriously." Iella told her dryly.

"The boys are taking care of everything."

"Speaking of which…"

"Jared is in the security office watching the monitors and Kyp is walking the grounds. I'll be fine Ella. In fact," Jade started. "I actually need to go shopping and maybe you can help me with that. If you have time?"

"Shopping? For what?" Iella asked, not sure what her friend was up to. "Can't you just ask Kyp or Jared?"

"I need a new dress for the ball and I can already hear them whining about having to take me clothes shopping." She joked.

"Do we have to take the boy wonders with us?" Iella asked and Jade burst out laughing when Jared and Kyp nearly choked at her comment. They had taken that precise moment to walk into the room and she wished she could have taken a holo of their expressions.

Iella turned to smirk at both of them and Kyp just frowned while Jared laughed. "I'm assuming you need someone to go with you?" Kyp asked.

"That would be nice. Jared, let's go." Jade said, standing up to run upstairs. She didn't notice Kyp's look of shock. Jared clapped the man on the shoulder and mumbled something about 'some guys have all the luck' as he walked away.

Shaking his head, he turned to find Iella watching him. She had a peculiar look on her face and before Kyp could place it, her mask changed to where he couldn't read it.

"I won't keep her gone long." She informed the master. He simply nodded and left the room, leaving her to watch his retreating form.

/____________________________________\

He sat in his chair, feet up on his desk as he turned the small data disk over in his hand. He had grown tired of Bela's complacency lately. Maybe it was time to get rid of him. Yeah, it would hurt his bottom line for a while, but he would recover. There was always someone more profitable and more ruthless out there. Bela could be great, but he was letting his conscious get in the way.

He looked up as the other man walked in the door and smiled. Flicking his wrist, he tossed the disk to the man and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Make sure that gets into the correct hands." He instructed. The man nodded and then left the room. Now it was time to sit back and watch the fireworks.

/____________________________________\


	16. Chapter 16

Post 16

Kyp blew out a breath and stood in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips. Jaina was supposed to meet him here, but she had just comm'd to tell him she couldn't make it. He had the afternoon off, since Jade had an empty schedule and had come to the temple to blow off some steam. And frustration.

He had to figure out what was going on with Jade. He hadn't kissed her since that morning in the kitchen. Force knows he had wanted to, but he felt…he couldn't explain how he felt. It felt wrong but at the same time it didn't. He figured it felt wrong because of Bela. Even though her marriage was, for all intents and purposes over, she was still married and still had to keep up appearances. He wasn't even positive he was reading the situation correctly. Both times they had kissed had been in stressful situations. What if it was just the adrenaline rush talking? If the case was over tomorrow, could he walk away and not look back?

"Aggghhh!" He yelled into the room. He couldn't meditate to release his frustrations because his thoughts always came back to the issue. She was always on his mind and he was sure that this whole situation was going to change his life completely, one way or the other.

"And of course, no one is around when I need to spar." He mumbled to the empty room.

"You could always spar with me." Kyp whipped around and raised an eyebrow as Jade walked into the room. The door closed behind her and he fought to gather his composure. Unfortunately, she was the last person he wanted to be around right now.

"Um, have you ever used a light saber before?" He asked cautiously as she removed her jacket and placed it on the bleachers that lined one wall of the room. She had on a tank top and khaki pants again and Kyp had to tear his eyes away from her curves to calm himself. Though looking at her face didn't help much either.

"No, but I don't think I would have that much trouble figuring it out." she told him. "Besides, who says you have to spar using a light saber."

"No offense Jade, but I'm not sure I'd get the workout I'm looking for with you." He realized a second after the words left his mouth that it had been the wrong thing to say. Actually, wrong wasn't a strong enough word.

Jade put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "For your information _Master_ Durron, I'm not as helpless as you so often like to think I am." She ground out as she stalked towards him. Kyp unconsciously backed up a step as she got closer. He made a mental note to not make her mad again. And to also thank the force that Jag had only been instructing her for a few days.

Stopping in front of him, Jade poked her finger into his solar plexus and he flinched. "I did happen to serve for four years in the military. Which not only included flying a fighter, but survival training."

Poke. Flinch.

"I also happened to graduate at the top of my class."

Poke. Flinch.

"Jake happened to also be in his squadron's dueling club and guess who he happened to practice with?"

"A Hutt?" Kyp offered jokingly.

Her eyes narrowed and before he could back away or offer an apology Jade shoved her forearm into his throat. At the same time she shifted to hook her right leg behind his knees and threw him down to the mat. Taking care not to land with all of her weight on his throat, she straddled his right side gently shoving his chin up and keeping his right arm pinned against the mat. Her knee was digging into his stomach and his left arm had become trapped under him as he had tried to catch himself. Kyp found himself almost regretting that he had asked Jag to train her. He suddenly realized she was lying halfway across him and he somehow managed to keep his smiled to himself.

"A Hutt?" She asked angrily.

"It was the first thing I could think of."

Jade raised an eyebrow at his flippant comment and he felt like kicking himself. This was not going well. Shaking her head, Jade moved her arm and sat back on her haunches. "I'm not sure I want to know why." She told him as she stood up, making sure she rested a little of her weight on his stomach as she did so. Kyp lay on the mat for a moment then sat up himself.

"It's not because you look like a Hutt." He told her retreating form. Jade stopped and half turned to look at him with disbelief over her shoulder.

"Cause you don't." He added quickly. "Looking anything like one, that is. In fact the exact opposite." Jade continued to glare at him and Kyp gulped. "I'm not helping myself, am I?"

"No, Master Durron. You're not." Jade resumed walking to the bleachers and picked up her jacket. She heard Kyp come up behind her but didn't turn or acknowledge he was there.

"I'm going home." She told him and walked towards the door, her jacket swinging in her hand. He stood there staring after her until the door closed, then took off at a run to follow.

"Sith." He swore under his breath as he ran to catch up. _Way to go there Durron._ He told himself. _You certainly have a way with the ladies. No wonder you're single._

She was halfway down the hall before he got close to her.

"Jade!" Her footsteps didn't falter, nor did she stop.

"Damn it. Wait." When he got close enough to touch her, he grabbed her shoulder and gently turned her around. Something twisted in his chest when he saw her eyes filled with tears. Mentally kicking himself, he looked around then pulled her into a nearby classroom. The late evening light filtered in between the blinds and he waited until the door was shut before speaking.

"I'm sorry" he told her quietly. "I let my mouth run away with my thoughts." She had turned her back to him when they had entered the room, but he could still feel the hurt emanating off of her.

"I just hate this." She whispered so quietly that he almost didn't hear. "I hate feeling so helpless."

Kyp stood there for a moment, just watching her. Swirls of purple and pink colored her skin and he felt something tighten in a different place than his chest this time. He didn't know how to stop these feelings he was having for her. Wasn't sure if he wanted to truthfully.

Sighing, he walked up and pulled her into his arms, her back to his chest. He rested his head next to hers, placing a kiss on her temple and waited for the storm in her to calm. The silence stretched out for a few minutes, but he didn't find himself rushing to end it. He was quite comfortable where he was. Jade turned her head so she could bury her face in his neck.

"Is this how all Jedi fix things? With a hug." Her mumbled voice came to him. Chuckling, he thought for a moment before he answered.

"Yeah, it's the newest thing. Luke wants us to kill people with kindness." Her laugh lifted the weight from his chest, but only partially. He pulled back to give her a smile.

"I know you hate this whole situation, and I'm sorry I didn't think before I said anything."

"It's not your fault, I'm just tired. I want this to be over." She said, her gaze directed towards the floor. His hands had settled on her upper arms and he suddenly realized that his thumbs were moving of their own accord across her skin. _Danger! Danger!_

"Let's go home." He told her. _So I can pull myself together._ He added silently to himself.

/____________________________________\

He reached over to grab the remote from the side table and turned the volume down on the shockball game, careful not to jolt Jaina awake. She had come over for dinner tonight and they had ended up talking about everything they should have five years ago. Five years wasted, because they were too stubborn.

Jaina sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to his side. He had sworn to himself after her display the other day, that he was not going to lose her this time. For anything. Jag was going to put his stubborness to good use and make sure Jaina was happy every day for the rest of their lives. Even if it killed him.

Leaning back into the couch cushions, he propped his feet up on the table and kissed the top of her head. Then closed his eyes and joined her in the oblivion of sleep.

/____________________________________\

One week later…

"Kyp, for the last time go!" She yelled at him from across the living room. It was Kyp's life day and Jade had insisted he go out with his friends. He was being a nerfherder and refusing. Throwing her arms up in frustration, she huffed and walked into the kitchen. Jared had gone to the security office, no doubt watching them as he fell off his chair in laughter. When this was over, she was going to find the worst job she could and give it to him.

She walked around the kitchen a couple of times, her frustration not going away and finally walked back into the living room. He wasn't there, but she knew better than to think he had left, as she suggested. Her steps took her down the hallway to where Jared was and she frowned when she found Kyp there.

"I thought I told you to leave." She said to the master, no anger in her stance, just impatience.

Kyp looked up from where he and Jared were going over something and frowned. "I'm not leaving Jade. End of story."

"No, it's not the end of the story. It's your life day and you don't need to be here watching me. Jared can look over things."

"Um…I wanted to go to the party." Jared piped up, then bit his lip at the look Jade gave him. "Or not." He mumbled.

"I'm not leaving you here unprotected." Kyp reminded her.

"Then send someone else to watch the house!" She yelled. Kyp started to reply then stopped. He got a look in his eyes and Jade wasn't sure if that was good. Smiling at her, he left the room at a near run. Jared looked at her in confusion, but she just shrugged her shoulders and sat down in the nearest chair. She wanted to go too, but she knew it wasn't possible. That would be a security nightmare and she wanted Kyp to enjoy today, not dread it.

An hour later, she found herself sitting in her embassy office, going over some requests when a knock came to her door. Jared had made sure she arrived at the office, then left so it shouldn't be him and Seena was off today. She reached out and felt Kyp's bright presence and the corner of her mouth turned up into a smile.

"Come in." She called out, not stopping her work. Jade did however look up when he came in the room. Her gaze followed Kyp as he claimed one of the seats in front of her desk and leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him. His face showed no emotion and she wondered if they were going to continue their conversation from this morning. She hated arguing with him, but lately he had been overly cautious when it came to her protection. Not that she minded that much because she understood why he did it. She just didn't want to stop living her life because her husband felt the need to off her.

"I took care of the issue." He told her quietly.

Jade looked up again and gave him her full attention. "You did?" He nodded and she smiled fully. "Good. So you're going tonight?"

He nodded again and she went back to her work. When he didn't say anything else, she looked up and found him grinning.

"You're up to something." She told him slowly.

"Why would you say that?"

"Maybe the stupid grin on your face?" She retorted.

"Ouch." Kyp said, then stood up to walk over to the window. She followed his progress and leaned back in her chair to admire the view. Not the one out the window either.

"Have you gotten something to wear to the ball yet?" She asked, knowing he was going to try and weasel his way out as always.

But he surprised her. Turning his head to look at her, he nodded. "Got it earlier. Jared got one too."

"You're both going to make my life miserable, aren't you?" Jade joked, shifting back to her desk. She waited for a comeback, but was surprised when she got none. Letting it go, she tried to get back to her work when she felt his breath on her ear. Jade had leaned forward in the chair when she had turned back around, leaving a nice space between her back and the chair. Kyp had decided it needed to be filled. Leaning over her, he had placed his hands on the desk, closing her in with his body. Then he had gotten as close as he could without touching her. She both hated and loved how he could unnerve her so easily.

Jade didn't have to see his face to know he was smiling and she was finding it difficult to keep one off her own face as well.

"I could be persuaded to be merciful." He whispered in her ear. Jade closed her eyes and fought to bring her pulse under control. Damn Jedi calming techniques weren't working!

Reaching up with one hand, Kyp pushed her hair back over her shoulder and placed the faintest of kisses below her ear. Jade shivered and she heard him chuckle. His next kiss was lower, and she unconsciously tilted her head to give him better access. He planted a few more kisses on the column of her neck, then reached up to turn her head and take possession of her lips.

Jade groaned when they made contact, but the sound was lost as he coaxed his tongue into her mouth. It didn't take much persuasion. Kyp slowly devoured her, knowing it drove her crazy when he went slow. He tried to keep his mind from wandering too far into the realm of thinking about what she would be like if they went further. That was dangerous territory he wasn't sure he was ready for yet. He was content to simply kiss her into oblivion for now.

He ended the kiss and was immensely pleased to see her face flush and her breathing ragged. Her eyes were still closed and he couldn't help but feel his heart tug at the sight of her so worked up by his kiss. Finally she opened her eyes and gave him a small smile. She looked confused, which of course made him feel even better.

"I should let you get back to work." He whispered as he stood up straight and walked over to the chair in front of her desk again. When he had sat down, she hadn't moved and had her eyes closed again. He chuckled and leaned back in the chair.

"You know that shoots my concentration to hell when you do that." She finally said when she found her voice. He just smiled mischievously and she went back to her work. Eventually.

/____________________________________\

Iella stood nervously at the door to Jade's office and wondered for the millionth time how she was going to deliver the news to her friend. She looked up as it swished open and met Kyp's questioning look with a half smile. He stepped back to allow her to enter and she squeezed the disk in her hand, wishing it would disappear.

"Ella!" Jade exclaimed as she looked up from her seat at the conference table by the windows. Iella smiled and walked to the back of the room.

The ambassador stood and gave her friend a hug then motioned her into the chair next to her. Joining them at the table, Kyp sat across from the women. He had a feeling that this wasn't a social visit, and he felt Jade reach the same conclusion. But she met the impending news with determination, like she always did. He marveled at her strength as this case went on. Most people would have given up a long time ago.

"We found something." Iella blurted out. Jade didn't like to beat around the bush so she wasn't going to stretch this out.

"And it's not good." Jade responded to her statement. Iella shook her head and the younger woman extended her hand for the disk she suspected the intelligence woman had brought. She handed it to her and then and Iella chanced a glance at Kyp. He looked worried. That was interesting. She would worry about that later though. As she started to turn her attention back to Jade, she heard her gasp and stiffen next to her.

/____________________________________\

"Jade?" His gaze transferred from Iella to Jade as he felt the turmoil that started to pour off of the younger woman. He looked inquiringly to Iella but she seemed to be having her own issues with whatever information she had just passed on. Surely it couldn't be any worse than it already was.

"Suna stumbled across the information a couple of days ago. I had them make sure it was legitimate before I brought it to you." Iella sighed deeply and started to say something else, but stopped. She placed her hand on Jade's arm and then moved to stand. "I'm sorry honey." Not knowing what else to say, she left.

Kyp stayed seated, his gaze resting on her face which was frozen in shock. Suddenly he felt a ripple of pain wash over her as she set the data pad down and pushed it toward him. Jade stood and walked over towards the window. He watched her journey but didn't reach for the data pad. They sat in silence for a few minutes as he felt her grapple for some semblance of peace in the tempest she had found herself thrown in. Even beneath her calm façade, he always found a little turbulence in her. Now he felt a raging whirlwind enveloping her and he felt her emotions trying to drown her.

Reaching over he picked up the pad and started to scan the contents. It was a relatively short read. Suna and Chaz had tracked a trip Bela had made to a planet. At first they had assumed it was another buying expedition, but it turned out to be more. The senator had stayed a whole week with a woman and her small son. Chaz had come up with the idea of Suna posing as a maid to see if she could hear anything that would be valuable in the investigation. Upon her discovery of a holo of a woman, child and a man that looked suspiciously like the good senator, she had managed to grab a piece of the woman's and the boy's DNA. Bela turned out to be the father. So not only was he buying and selling slaves, he had added cheater to his list of crimes. One could argue the later was not as heinous as the former. His wife might happen to disagree with that conclusion though.

"He told me he couldn't have children."

Kyp's eyes shifted to look at her as her words broke him out of his reverie. He closed his eyes as he heard and felt the sharp stab of pain that came through their tentative bond. Wordlessly, he stood and made his way over to where she was standing. He started to put his hand on her shoulder, when she spun around and launched herself into his arms. Sobs racked her body as he tightened his arms around her and ran his hand down her back.

"I'm so sorry." He murmured quietly into her hair. The master held her for a few wordless moments as her sobs started to lessen. He really hoped he didn't have to see the Senator again before this case was over. He might not be responsible for what he did if that happened. Kyp felt her pull her blanket of calm back over herself and placed a kiss to her head.

"I'm not much better, am I?" She whispered. He pulled back and frowned at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Us. I've essentially been cheating too." She told him, a pained look on her face.

Kyp waited until she looked at him before he spoke. "It's not the same thing and you know it. Jade, that child is two years old. He did this long before either one of us had even met. So what is happening between us has nothing to do with the fact your husband is scum."

His eyes searched hers and he saw the doubt in them. Instinctively, he knew it was not in him or what was happening between them. She was in territory that was so alien to her she didn't know what to do. Jade had always lived her life by the rules. Always treated others as she wanted to be treated. She had a sense of decency and expected everyone else to also. It amazed him how she still had a touch of innocence after being an ambassador for so long. She hadn't allowed the back stabbing hatred traditionally expressed by those in her position taint her life.

"You have no reason to feel guilty. No reason at all." He told her quietly and she nodded, pulling him back to her and hiding her face in his neck again.

/____________________________________\


	17. Chapter 17

Post 17

Bela rubbed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. He was on his way back to Coruscant after having completed another making another trade and taking Shaw his share and he had come away from their meeting a little unnerved. His gut was telling him Shaw was up to something, but what it was he didn't have the faintest clue. He could only hope that the man had found another protégé to adopt and would leave him alone.

Business had slowed down lately and he couldn't help feeling that Shaw was the reason. Bela's reputation usually preceeded him and he had more clients than he had merchandise. He wondered if Shaw was trying to make a point with him since he had tried to leave the trade and then had come back. Bela sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bunk, resting his head in his hands. He felt like he had gone crawling back even though he hadn't.

Sitting back and resting his head on the wall, he closed his eyes and thought of his other issue. Usually, he was eager to get home, but he found that he wasn't this time. Another ephiphany he'd had in the last few weeks was that he realized that he didn't love his wife anymore. That wasn't totally correct. He loved her as a person and knew she was special, but he didn't love her like he did Kalira. A smile broke out on his face at the thought of the blue-eyed blonde that had passed her coloring on to their son. A sigh escaped his lips and he grimaced. He hadn't thought about Jade like that in a long time, even going so far as to not contact her as much or send her gifts home like he used to. She had left him a few messages, regarding any senate things he had needed to know, but there was never anything personal in them.

Bela didn't want to hurt his wife, but he had a feeling he already had. He couldn't go home and tell Jade about his other family and ask for a divorce. His career in politics would be over and he didn't want to heap that kind of stigma on either woman. There had to be a way to fix this cleanly.

Then there were the attempts on Jade's life. He had an inkling of who it was, but was ill equipped to do anything about it. Bela could hire someone to take care of the problem, but it wasn't that easy. He didn't have proof and the target was extremely hard to kill. Many had tried and each one had failed miserably. While he may not love Jade like he should, he didn't want to see her hurt or worse killed. He had been relying on the Jedi master to keep her safe and from all reports he had done an excellent job so far.

Bela sighed and closed his eyes. Some days he thought about just up and leaving everything behind. He had a feeling that might happen a lot sooner than he ever imagined.

/____________________________________\

"So you've got the second shift?" Jag asked Jaina, as he tried not to chuckle. She punched him in the arm and gave him a small glare.

"Yes. Ben and I are going over later." She told him from the seat next to him. They were on their way to the bar for Kyp's party. Jaina was going to use the speeder when she and the boys left to go and guard Jade and Jag would just walk home. She reached over to grab his free hand and he glanced at her briefly.

They were essentially going out again, even though the exact words hadn't been uttered yet. Jaina had spent most of her free time at Kyp and Jag's apartment the last week and had even stayed the entire night. Jag hadn't asked her, it had just sort of happened. Not that he was complaining. He had been carrying the feeling of waking up next to her around all day and it was definitely a good feeling. Jaina squeezed his hand and brought him out of his thoughts.

"You ok?" She asked, quietly.

He smiled and focused on the traffic again. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"Ah. Is that what that smell was?"

"Cute Solo."

"Yes you are." She said, a grin on her face. He chuckled as they pulled into a parking space near the bar. Jaina was already out of the speeder by the time he made it around the car and he stopped her when she started towards the building. Pulling her closer, he brushed his lips over hers and hugged her tight when she put her arms around him.

They walked in and found some people already there. Jag had his arm around Jaina's shoulders as they walked over towards the group and he started to pull it away, when she stopped him. Grabbing his hand, she held his arm in place and looked over at him.

"Leave it there, flyboy." She yelled over the noise. When they approached the table, a few eyebrows were raised at the picture they presented, but Jaina sensed relief at the sight more than anything. Taking their seats, Jag glanced over at Han and was met with a grin.

"So I see my daughter finally pulled her head out of her ass." Han shouted over the noise and got an elbow and a "Dad" from his wife and daughter respectively. If anything, his grin got wider. Jag said nothing, just returned the smile knowing Han was probably going to corner him at some point tonight.

/____________________________________\

Kyp was in his room, getting ready to go out that night, but he didn't feel like partying. He would much rather stay home and just be with Jade right now. Not only because he liked being with her, but after the bomb she had gotten dropped on her today, he was reluctant to leave her alone. Instinctively, he knew the pain didn't come from the fact that Bela had cheated. That might be a small part of it. It was mostly the fact that she had wanted children for a while now and had been shot down each time she brought the subject up. He sensed her sadness was more for what could have been.

That afternoon, they had talked for a few hours after Iella had left. He knew she was racking her brain, trying to find a reason why he had done this. Personally, Kyp thought he was an idiot, but he was slightly biased on the subject. The only reason he could come up with himself, was that Bela really hadn't loved Jade as much as he tried to profess. He knew, in his heart, that she probably didn't have a lot of love left for the senator after all of this, but it still had to hurt.

Sighing, he sat down on his bed and stared at the wall. Their bond had gotten stronger the more he helped her access the force. At first he had tried to keep it closed, afraid that he would unconsciously push his feelings on her. But it had been painful, quite literally, so he had stopped. He had experienced force bonds with people before, Jaina being the foremost in his mind, but he had never felt anything like this. Never felt so complete when he felt her joy and happiness and so distraught when he felt her disappointment.

A knock sounded on the door and he stood up to answer it. Jade was standing there, sleep pants and a tshirt on and a smile on her beautiful face. He knew her heart wasn't in that smile though. Kyp could feel her pain, though distant, and he felt himself trying to think of a way out of going again.

"Kyp, you're going. I'll be fine." She told him quietly as she finished buttoning his shirt and smoothing the collar. For a moment, the domesticity of the action hit him, but she continued speaking and didn't notice his jerk. "Jared is already dressed and actually looks presentable and there are too many people you would disappoint if you didn't go." She added. He searched her eyes and realized that he had fallen in love with this woman standing before him. Her quiet determination, her unique innocence and her ability to love completely and without thought of reward, had wrapped itself around him somehow, when he wasn't looking. He reached out to touch her cheek and gently caressed it.

"I'm not really worried about them."

"You shouldn't be worried about me either. Unless you don't trust the replacements, ones that you hand picked I might remind you." She told him with a grin.

"I need a favor guys." Kyp had told his friends when they had finally gathered in the same room so he could ask them all at the same imte. Jade had given him an idea when she had told him to get other people to guard her. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before.

"_What's up?" Jaina asked and he smiled. Straight to the punch. Kyp had called Jag and told him his idea and the younger man had agreed to get a few people together that would be interested in the job. So now Jag, Jaina, Corran, Valin, and Ben sat in a conference table at the temple, waiting to hear what he wanted through the comm. _

"_I can't go out tonight and leave Jade unprotected. So I was wondering if you guys would mind being watchdogs so no one has to miss." His idea was met with silence and he couldn't decide if he was disappointed or elated by that. _

"_No one except Jade." Jaina commented and he sighed. _

"_She said she didn't want to make it harder than it needed to be. Listen, if I had my choice I wouldn't be going out tonight, but it's out of my hands." _

_Corran got a smirk on his face and Kyp groaned silently. "Never thought I would see the day you let a woman tell you what to do Durron." _

"No, I trust them or they wouldn't be doing it."

"Then go. Have fun and don't worry about me." She whispered. Kyp nodded, albeit reluctantly, and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I won't be out late." He told her.

"If you're back early, I swear I'll never talk to you again." She told him with a glare. He grinned and walked past her, briefly leaning over to whisper in her ear.

"Guess we'll have to find something to do besides talk then." Kyp could feel her shock in the force and laughed as he made his way to the living room.

/____________________________________\

Seated on the couch were Corran and Valin. He wouldn't leave Jade's safety to anyone else, except maybe Han and Jag. The second shift would be here in a couple of hours. That way, everyone got to enjoy themselves and he didn't have to worry about Jade. At least not that much.

Kyp stopped in front of the sofa where Valin had taken a seat, Corran standing behind him surveying the room. Jared came down the hall at the same time as Jade, who had finally recovered from Kyp's comment, and they chuckled at the sight.

"Now I don't want any wild parties. No strange girls and no drinking. Is that understood?"

Both Horns were unsuccessful in keeping the smiles from their faces. "Yes dad." They said in unison. Kyp rolled his eyes and turned to leave, but not before glancing at Jade and smiling. She smiled back and he grabbed Jared by the arm and went out the door before he could change his mind.

They had just made it to the speeder when he heard Corran call his name. His fellow master jogged over and stopped on the passenger side of the car where Kyp was. Kyp raised his eyebrows in question.

"Listen, don't worry about her. We won't let anything happen." Corran reassured him.

Kyp smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "I know Corran, because I would hate to make Mirax a widow before her time."" Corran's laughter followed him until he shut the door.

/____________________________________\

"Are you going to play or think?" She asked the Jedi master as he sat contemplating his next move.

"Patience, young one." Corran mumbled as Jade and Valin rolled their eyes.

"Patience? Dad, it's been 15 minutes! Go already!" Valin told his father.

Corran looked at his son out of the corner of his eye and huffed. "Fine." He said and took his turn. _Young people. Always in a hurry._ Corran thought to himself.

Jade played her turn and Corran groaned. She had won. Again. Neither he nor Valin had won a single hand tonight.

"I'm done." He told the other two as he stood up from the table and stretched, making his way into the living room. Checking his chrono he realized the others would be here soon and decided to go down the hall and check the monitors.

/____________________________________\

"So, how are things with you and bad ass?" Jag asked as he took a drink of his ale. He and Kyp were standing over at an aeropool table, watching Jaina and Han competing. Kyp was surprised they hadn't progressed to having a mock lightsaber fight with the sticks yet considering how competitive they were. He took a drink of his own ale and leaned back against the wall.

"She told you about that huh? Actually, they're going quite well. I just have to remember not to corral her too much." Jag snorted but didn't say anything. He was going to leave that alone considering he didn't have much room to talk.

"What about you two?" Kyp asked. "Everything going ok?" Jag didn't answer him, and when he turned to see why, he burst out laughing. His friend had obviously gotten distracted when Jaina had leaned over the table to take a shot and given him a nice view of her backside.

"Fel!" Jag jumped and looked up to find Han giving him a look. The young man cleared his throat and looked away, Kyp still laughing beside him.

"Nevermind. I think that answered my question." Kyp told him when he finally stopped laughing. Jag rolled his eyes and took another drink. His gaze roamed over to the chorno on the wall and he sighed.

"Hey Goddess. It's time for the second shift." He called over, trying to keep his gaze above her shoulders so Han wouldn't hit him with the stick he held in his hands. Jaina looked at the same chorno and mirrored his sigh. She wouldn't complain since she had promised Kyp she would do this for him. Walking over to where the boys stood, she smiled and gave Jag a brief kiss.

"Finish my game for my flyboy?" She asked him quietly, not pulling back from him very far. Jag raised an eyebrow at her question.

"I thought you liked me?"

Kyp snickered and Jaina shot him a look. "I do, but it'll be good for you and dad."

Jag took his turn to snicker and downed the rest of his drink. "As you wish Goddess." Taking the stick from her he walked over to the table. Jaina watched his journey for a moment, then turned back to Kyp. He took a drink then gave her an inquiring look.

"Walk me to the speeder?" She asked him causally. Kyp nodded and set his drink down to follow her out the door. Neither one spoke until they made it outside.

"You ok?" She asked him and his head shot up at her question.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because you feel all jumbled." She offered and Kyp took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I **feel** all jumbled."

"Is everything going ok with you and Jade?"

"Everything is fine." He told her, but didn't offer any details.

"Then what's wrong?" Jaina patiently waited for him to try to phrase his answer just the way he wanted.

"I think I'm in love with her." He whispered, turning his head up to gaze into the sky.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

Jaina smiled and snaked her arm through one of his. "Then what's the problem?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder. Personally, she thought they made a cute couple and were definitely more compatible than Jade was with her husband. Kyp had told Jag the basics of why he had been assigned to the ambassador earlier and Jag, in turn, had told her. She hadn't really gotten a chance to meet the woman, but Jag seemed to respect her quite a bit which was enough for Jaina. Maybe tonight she could get to know her a little better.

"I just hope she doesn't think she's making a mistake when it's all over." He said quietly. His ears were still ringing slightly from coming out of the bar into the relatively quiet night and he felt a headache coming on.

"A mistake?" She asked, looking up at him, confused.

"Yeah. With me."

"The only mistake she would make is if she walked away from you after this Kyp. Give yourself some credit dear. An old man once told me, give yourself a chance to be happy for once. Even if you think you don't deserve it." Kyp smiled and kissed Jaina's forehead.

"You realize I'm going to kick your butt at our next sparring session for calling me old."

"You're going to try." She threw back at him, as she turned to watch Ben walking their way.

/____________________________________\

Jaina and Ben made their way up the steps of Senator Mnaa's mansion, no words spoken between them. Jaina was thinking about what she and Kyp had talked about and Ben must have sensed she didn't want to talk. Ben rang the door chime and Valin's face greeted them when the door opened.

"Hey guys. How's the party?" Valin asked as he followed them into the living room. Jaina scanned the room as they walked, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh it was great." Ben offered. "I'll be surprised if Jag is still breathing when it's over though. Jaina left him playing pool with uncle Han." Jaina whipped her head around to glare at her cousin and both boys laughed.

Jade walked into the room from the kitchen and smiled at the new arrivals. "Ah. The second set of babysitters." Jaina chuckled, then turned to Valin.

"Where's you dad?"

"He's in the security office watching the monitors." As soon as the last word left his mouth, the room was plunged into darkness.

/____________________________________\


	18. Chapter 18

**Post 18**

Han leaned against the pool stick, waiting for Jag to take his shot. They hadn't talked much since Jaina had left and he should probably do something about that. Jag took his shot and stood back to watch it, so Han decided the time was right.

"So Fel. You and Jaina back together?" He asked casually and not surprisingly, Fel gave no outward reaction to his question.

"Yeah, I think so." The young man said as he came over and picked his drink up from the small table. Han made no move to start playing.

"You think?" Han asked, extremely curious now.

"Well, to be honest, the exact words were never spoken." Jag said, his brow furrowed in thought and Han hid a smile. "We've been hanging out a lot lately. Going to dinner, watching the holonet. I think we both just fell into the mode again." Jag took a drink and glanced over at the man who he had once thought would be his father-in-law.

"What changed?" Han asked, as he walked over to take his shot, giving Jag time to answer.

Jag hesitated. Not that he didn't want to tell Han, but Jaina had been reluctant to tell him as it was. He wasn't sure how the man would react to hearing his two dead sons had visited his remaining child.

"She had a visit from a few friends of hers that made her change her mind." Jag finally said after Han had taken his shot.

"The boys finally visited her huh?" Han looked up to find shock on Jag's face. So, the kid actually could be surprised. Interesting.

It took a minute for Jag to recover. "Yeah."

"Bout kriffing time. I think they were the only ones she was going to listen to at this point."

"Han…" The older man clapped Jag on the shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry kid. I ain't gonna say anything. I'm just glad she finally came to her senses."

Jag nodded his thanks and the two men went back to playing their game, their hearts a little lighter.

/____________________________________\

Kyp had indulged in a couple of ales and was feeling good, but he definitely wasn't drunk. He and Jag were probably the only ones that weren't. Jaina and Ben had only left about 30 minutes ago and he was desperately trying to keep his worry under control. Valin hadn't shown up yet, but he could have run home before he was going to stop by. He finished the ale and sighed.

Next to him, Jag raised his eyebrows and nudged his friend in the ribs.

"Relax Kyp. She's fine." He told him and Han nodded in agreement.

"So, what's going on between you and the ambassador?" Solo threw at Kyp. Zekk, Jag and Jared were the only ones that had heard the question and they transferred their gaze to the Jedi master. Kyp cleared his throat and wondered how he was going to answer that question when his head exploded in pain.

/____________________________________\

She reached out with her senses, just like Kyp had taught her. She felt the others in the room, then tried to extend her awareness further, but all she got was what felt like static. Shaking her head in frustration, she concentrated on finding Jaina, since she was the closest. A hand wrapped around her upper arm and she fought back the scream.

"It's me. Just stand still" Jaina whispered in her ear. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and she saw they had all moved around the room, trying to cover every entrance and exit. She and Jaina were towards the middle of the room, when shattering glass behind her made her turn towards the back doors. Jade watched, almost in slow motion, as a small silver ball flew into the room, there was a pulse of light, then her world caught fire.

/____________________________________\

"Kyp!" Jag grabbed his friend before he nose-dived into the floor. He looked over at Zekk and saw the man had his eyes closed as if he was searching for something or someone. Kyp's hands had flown to his head before Jag had heard him cry out in pain. Han, sobered instantly and pulled out his comm to call Jaina.

Trying to catch his breath, Kyp leaned his head on the table and tried to figure out what had happened. One minute he had been fine, then a supernova had gone off in his head. Unconsciously he reached out to Jade and caught his breath when he found her faint signature.

"Something happened at the house." He said suddenly, standing and trying to get by Jag. The former Chiss commander stood, stopping him.

"Kyp, wait. First off, you need to calm down. Zekk says they're not dead." He told his friend calmly.

"Get out of my way, Fel." Kyp growled, but Jag didn't flinch. He stood his ground and grabbed Kyp by the shoulders to keep him from getting past him.

"I'm just as worried as you are, let's just…" Jag's comm chirped and he chanced moving one hand from Kyp's shoulder to answer it. Surprisingly, the Jedi master stood there quietly, probably still in shock.

"Fel."

"Jag! Where are you?" Iella's voice came over the device.

"We're at the bar. What happened?" He asked.

"Meet us at the med center down the street from the temple." Kyp flexed to move, but Jag stopped him again.

"We'll be right there." Putting his comm back on his belt, he reached into his pocket to throw some credits on the table, then turned to find Han, Zekk and Jared ready to go.

"Guess the party's over." He threw out, then grabbing Kyp by the arm walked out the door.

/____________________________________\

They all hopped into the speeder Kyp and Jared had driven over in. No one spoke on the way there. Kyp was in the back seat between Han and Jag, still in shock. Suddenly, he felt something touch his mind and felt Jaina's reassurance that they were all ok. Taking a deep breath, he sat back in the seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

The med center was close, so it didn't take them long to get there. Jared had barely stopped the speeder when Jag had jumped out, Kyp close behind. When they made it to the lobby, Iella was standing there with her arms wrapped around her and her head bowed. She looked up when she heard them noisily come in and looked relieved.

"They're all fine. Some scrapes and bruises. Corran got hurt the worst, but it's really not that bad. He managed to absorb some of the energy." Kyp said nothing as he walked behind the group, lost in his own thoughts. He never should have gone out tonight. He wasn't stupid, he knew he couldn't have stopped this, but at least he would have known how she was.

The group stopped in front of him and Kyp's head came up to see they had entered a small waiting room. Wedge stood up when they entered and nodded to the group. Kyp started to say something when a door to their right opened and Jaina and Ben walked out. Jaina had a gash above her right eye and one down her right cheek, but other than that she looked fine. Ben had a few cuts on his face, and his upper left arm was bandaged.

Jag walked over and pulled Jaina into his arms, squeezing her tightly. She buried her face in his chest and sighed. Han had walked over towards them and wrapped an arm around Ben's shoulders.

"You ok kid?" Ben nodded and gave his uncle a small smile.

"Where's Valin?" Zekk asked, garnering everyone's attention.

"He's in with Corran." Jaina answered quietly, as she brought her head up to look at everyone. "He's ok, he just got a few burns and a couple bad cuts on his chest. Jade's not going to be happy that he took out the back of her house though." She said with a sad smile.

"Where is Jade?" Kyp asked quietly. Jaina started to answer, when Iella stepped towards him.

"Where were **you**, is what I want to know?! Why weren't you there? While you were out gallivanting around town, someone attacked her again." Wedge tried to pull Iella back away from Kyp, but she wasn't' having it. She got up in the master's face, but he didn't budge. "You promised you would keep her safe!"

Kyp picked a spot on the wall over Iella's head to stare at. He wasn't sure he could look anyone in the eye right now. The Intelligence agent had just summed up exactly what he was feeling. Guilt was thrumming through his veins and he just went numb. He deserved her censure and so much more.

"You can be sure I'm going to talk to Luke about this, Durron. Jade isn't any safer now than before, and with each attack, they get bolder and bolder, and one of these times, they won't miss." She told him quietly, her voice filled with disgust. Wedge came up and this time managed to get her to back off. Kyp just stood there, his emotions eating him up inside.

"Let's go for a walk, Ella." He faintly heard Wedge whisper, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her stalk out the door ahead of her husband. Wedge watched her for a minute, then turned his head towards Kyp. "She's just upset, Kyp. She'll be more reasonable later." He told the master quietly. Kyp nodded slightly and heard the man go out the door.

Jaina started to go to him to say something when the doctor came in the room. He looked around and when he didn't see who he was looking for, he gazed at the small group that was there.

"Are you looking for Mrs. Antilles?" Jag asked.

"Yes, I was just going to let her know the ambassador's condition."

"She's going to be ok?" Jared asked. He had remained quiet until now. The young man had wanted to speak up while Iella was going off on Kyp, but he wasn't sure he could have helped any. He would make sure that Luke Skywalker got a different story about Kyp's performance from him than he would from the Intelligence agent.

"She's going to be fine. She has a slight concussion and some cuts, but with rest she'll be good as new."

"Can she have visitors?" Jaina asked.

"One or two shouldn't hurt. But you must be quiet. Her senses are still very sensitive from the flash detonator." Jaina nodded at the doctor and thanked him, then turned to look at Kyp. He still hadn't moved and the look on his face was one of calm but she knew he wasn't.

Han scratched his head, then threw his arms up. Walking over to Kyp, he grabbed him by the arm and pushed him towards the doors that led back to the examination rooms. Kyp looked at him like he was crazy and Han just cuffed him upside the head.

"Go." He told him, then pushed him again. "Go!"

Kyp finally turned to look at the double doors, then slowly walked through them.

Only two of the curtains were pulled on any of the beds. The one to the right of the doors held Corran. Valin looked up and gave Kyp a smile, then looked down to the other end of the room where the other pulled curtain was and back to the master. As Kyp walked down the aisle, he heard the younger Jedi leave the room and he took a deep breath.

When he made it to the bed finally, he felt his anger rise. Jade was stretched out, one arm across her stomach, the other over her eyes. The lights in the room were dimmed, probably to make her more comfortable. He stood there watching her for a while, afraid to touch her in case she might break. Suddenly, he felt a brush against his mind and he couldn't help but smile a little.

Jade's hand moved from over her eyes and she opened them to look at him. "Hey, handsome." She said quietly. When he didn't move, she held out her hand to him and his body seemed to move of its own accord. Grasping his hand in hers, she squeezed and gave him a smile.

"How was the party?" She asked when he didn't say anything.

"It was boring." He told her as he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

Her smile got bigger and she turned onto her side so she could see him better. Slowly, her smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, concern etching her features. Her hand reached over to push a lock of his hair that had fallen into his eyes away. Kyp closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not being there."

Jade didn't say anything for a minute and he opened his eyes to find her looking at him, a tear escaping to run down her cheek.

"It's not your fault, Kyp. Please don't blame yourself." She whispered.

"How can I not?" He responded, looking down at the floor.

"Because I told you not to." She joked and he found a smile trying to form on his face. Her brow crinkled in pain and Kyp felt his heart skip a beat.

"Will you stay with me?" Jade's voice said, barely a whisper. She opened her eyes just enough to see him nod at her.

"Iella might try to get me thrown out." He said, moving the chair closer to the bed. She still had his hand in hers and didn't seem to want to let go.

A smile graced her face and she moved his hand and placed it under her cheek. "I'll take care of her, just don't leave."

Leaning over, Kyp deposited a kiss on her forehead. "Never."

/____________________________________\

Jaina and Jag were still out in the waiting room 30 minutes later.

"I'm thinking he's not coming back out." Jag said, then laughed when Jared snorted from beside them. He placed a kiss on Jaina's head and then moved to sit up. "Let's go home." He told her as he stood and held a hand out to her.

"What if Iella comes back? I don't want to leave Kyp here alone."

Jag smiled and pulled her up to a standing position. "I think even with a concussion, Jade can handle Iella." Nodding to Jared, the two left, hand in hand.

/____________________________________\

She disconnected the comm call and sat back in the chair, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. Wedge walked into the room behind her, but she didn't turn to acknowledge him. Her anger was still brimming just below the surface. How dare he go out to enjoy himself and leave Jade vulnerable. She thought to herself.

"Ella, you have to let this go." Her husband told her as he kneaded her tense shoulders.

"He was supposed to be protecting her, Wedge. How can I let that go?" She spat angrily, standing to start pacing the living room. Wedge watched her helplessly, wishing he could get her to see reason.

"Honey, there were four Jedi in that house and even they weren't able to prevent it. What makes you think Durron could have if he would have been there? There'd just have been one more casualty."

"He promised to protect her!" She shouted and Wedge suddenly realized the root of the problem.

"Iella, look at me." He told her forcefully. Her head whipped around at his tone and he saw the shock on her face. Wedge now had her attention.

"You have got to let go of your hatred of Kyp."

Throwing her arms up, she resumed her pacing. "Now you sound like Luke. I'm not a kriffing Jedi."

"Anger is just as destructive for non-Jedi as it is for the Jedi themselves. You're letting your personal issues with Durron get in the way of reason. He's protected her up to this point. Did you know he's helped her to learn how to use her force abilities? Or that he asked Jag to teach her self-defense?"

Iella stopped abruptly and again stared at her husband in shock. "No." She said quietly. "How…"

"Jag and I had lunch a couple days ago. He told me she's quite good. Coming from him that's saying a lot."

She didn't know what to say. Wedge took advantage of her hesitation and walked over to embrace her.

"Kyp isn't going to let anything happen to her. You know that. And from what I hear…" He hesitated to finish his thought. Iella's head came up and she gave him a questioning gaze.

"What?"

"From what Jag told me, Kyp seems to be quite taken with Jade. Not that I'm surprised." He added with a smile. Then his wife surprised him. She didn't rant and go off on the Jedi master again. She actually returned his smile.

"Really?"

He nodded his affirmation and she seemed to relax in his arms.

"But she's still married and…" Wedge silenced her with a kiss and when he finished was happy to see his wife quite dazed.

"Let them figure it out. Kyp is not going to compromise the case or Jade."

"When did you start liking Durron?" She asked suspiciously. Wedge laughed.

"I don't like him, but Luke trusts him, so therefore I do. He'll do his job honey."

/____________________________________\

Kyp woke with a crick in his neck. Sleeping in the chair had not been comfortable at all, especially at his age.

"You're not old, Kyp. Stop thinking you are." A voice came quietly to his ears. Looking over he saw a sight he would be happy to wake up to every morning for the rest of his life. Jade still had that dazed, sleepy look in her eyes and a beautiful smile was on her face. Leaning over he gently placed a kiss on her lips, then stood up to stretch. He grimaced as he heard a series of pops and sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to sleep in the chair last night. I didn't think about how uncomfortable it would be until now." She told him quietly as she watched him work the kinks out of his neck.

"It's ok. I'll live."

"I would have asked you to climb in bed with me, but I don't think the doctor would have liked that." She chuckled and he saw a blush come to her cheeks. He reached out to caress her cheek and the sound of voices jerked both of their gazes towards the door and Kyp's hand fell away.

It took him a moment to figure out who the people were who walked into the room, but the burst of joy from Jade confirmed his suspicions. Her mother hurried over to her side and running her hand from Jade's temple to her cheek, she leaned down to kiss her forehead. Michael Storm kept back a little, knowing his wife would need the most reassurance that their daughter was ok. Glancing at Kyp, the man nodded in his direction and Kyp returned the gesture.

More voices sounded and he looked up to see Iella and Jake enter the room. Oh boy. He thought. This is going to hurt. Bracing himself for another dressing down, he was thrown by the smile that Iella granted him. A chuckle from Jade, shifted his attention to her and he gave her a small glare. Before he could make an excuse and remove himself from the room, Jake stopped him.

"Can I speak with you Master Durron?" Kyp nodded and avoided Jade's gaze as they left the room. The waiting room was empty and he stopped a few meters from where the elder Storm sibling had and wondered what he had just gotten himself into.

"What the hell are you doing?" He said quietly, but his tone was full of anger.

"What?" Kyp was floored.

"You're supposed to protect her, not take advantage of her!" He said a little louder, but made sure to keep his voice low.

"What are you talking about?" Jake hadn't been here nearly the entire time he had been assigned to Jade so he wasn't sure where this was going.

"My sister is a married woman, in case you forgot."

"I'm well aware of her availability, Commander. The only thing I'm confused about is where this conversation came from and is going." Kyp said, sounding much calmer than he actually felt. Apparently, Iella Antilles had decided to get her revenge by sending Jake after him.

/____________________________________\

Jade was listening to her mother ramble, when she felt Kyp's emotions spike. Her eyes shot to the door and then rested on her father. He narrowed his eyes, then the light went on. Michael politely excused himself then went to see what his son was doing.

/____________________________________\

"Look…" Kyp started.

"No, you look. I'm going to make sure you're replaced." He responded, as he moved closer to Kyp, trying to intimidate him. The master held his temper in check. A response was on the tip of his tongue when he heard the doors open behind him.

"Jacob. Your sister wants to see you." Michael's voice came authoritatively. The young man closed his mouth and looked at his father. Without another word, he moved past Kyp and back into the room.

Kyp took a deep breath and wasn't sure he had just gotten rescued or not. Michael was a lot bigger than his son and could probably get a good hit in before Kyp could stop him. Turning, he faced Jade's father and cleared his throat.

"Relax Kyp. I'm not here to ream you." Michael told him quietly, a smile coming to his face. Kyp visibly slumped in relief and sat down in a chair. Rubbing his hands over his face he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. The mayor took the seat next to him.

"Actually, I'd like to thank you."

Kyp turned his head and gave the man a look of disbelief.

"You're joking?" His question was met with laughter.

"No. I'm not. You've done a good job of watching over her."

"But I…"

"What would you have done had you been at the house last night?" He asked abruptly, stopping Kyp's pity party.

The master found he had no answer and stared at the wall across the room.

"That's what I thought. Actually, from what Iella told me, your friends did quite a good job of making sure she wasn't hurt worse."

"Iella?" Kyp managed to eke out through his shock. Again, the man laughed at him.

"Yes. She's almost as overprotective of Jade as Jake is. You'll have to forgive my son. He sometimes forgets that Jade isn't helpless. I think he still sees her as a little five-year-old in pigtails that needs her big brother to help her."

Kyp had to chuckle at the mayor's imagery and found himself relieved. He might make it through the day yet.

The doors to the room opened up and Corran walked out, his arm draped over his son's shoulders. The former Corsec officer stopped in front of Kyp and gave him a grin.

"Next time you need a babysitter, don't ask me unless it's a houseplant, Durron." Clapping the younger man on the shoulder, the father and son left the room.

"You have good friends." Michael said, dragging Kyp's attention back.

"Yeah. I do." Kyp responded, wondering if Corran had hit his head harder than everyone thought.


	19. Chapter 19

**Post 19**

_That evening…_

"I'll sleep on the couch Kyp. Just give her my room." Jaina rolled her eyes as the boys fought over the sleeping arrangements. She sat across the room from them, Ben sitting next to her and Zekk and Jared a few chairs down, quietly making fun of Kyp and Jag.

Jade was being released today, and she couldn't move back to the house until it was fixed. Actually, they weren't even sure she was going to be able to move back in at all. The structural damage had been quite extensive, but she'd taken the news in stride. If Jaina had to guess, it was probably because the house didn't exactly hold good memories anymore.

After five more minutes of them arguing back and forth, Jaina had had enough. "For force sake! Jade can have Jag's room and Jag can stay with me. Can't you guys make a decision?!" Ben snorted beside her and both Jag and Kyp looked at her in surprise.

"My room is right down the hall so if you two miss each other you can come make out on the couch." She added, trying not to laugh at the look Jag gave her. Kyp jumped right on the bandwagon.

"How can you sit there and make fun of mine and Jag's feelings." Kyp said, as he put his arm around Jag's shoulders and placed an audible kiss on his roommate's head. The room burst into laughter.

"How about I stay with Jaina and you two can stay with each other." A voice to Kyp's right came. He looked to see Jade standing there, a little pale, but a huge smile on her face. "We would hate to break you two up."

Kyp laughed and stood up to embrace her.

"Easy there, Durron. I'm not 100% yet." She told him and he relaxed the pressure of his arms, burying his face in her hair. It still smelled slightly of smoke, but he didn't care. He was just glad he was able to hold her at all.

He heard someone quietly leave the room behind him, but he didn't turn around.

"You ready to go?" He asked her softly. She nodded and the group left the room.

"They said that you could go in and get some things from the house." Kyp told her as they walked down the hall to leave. Zekk and Ben were walking in front of them with Jag, Jaina and Jared behind them. Kyp frowned for a minute, then turned to give Jaina a look. She just grinned and he raised an eyebrow.

"What are you guys up to?" He stopped and turned to face her fully. Jag answered the question.

"Those two," he said, pointing to Zekk and Ben, "are running point. We three, "he continued, motioning to himself, Jaina and Jared, "are bringing up the rear. It's simple defense master Durron."

"But why?" Kyp asked, feeling Jade's amusement from beside him.

Jared jumped up and down, holding his hand in the air and Kyp sent him a glare. "Because Mr. Storm asked for it. Nothing against you Kyp, he just wanted a little extra when she was leaving the med center."

Kyp shook his head, more at Jared's actions than what he had said, and turned to continue down the hall.

/____________________________________\

They arrived at the house not too long afterwards. From the front it looked completely normal. Once she stepped inside however, it was a whole other story. Iella had told her about the devastation, but seeing it floored her. Her first thought was how they hadn't been injured worse.

Most of the back wall of the living room was gone, along with the small wall that separated the kitchen from that room. Glass shards still littered the floor and sparkled in the afternoon sunlight that was coming from the kitchen window.

Her second thought was bittersweet. The house held so many memories, good and bad. Pushing depressing thoughts out of her mind, she walked upstairs to her room and pulled a suitcase out of the closet. Kyp hadn't followed her and she was glad. Her emotions were still so scattered and she felt like she was going to lose it any minute.

Jade packed the suitcase with most of her clothes, then grabbed a smaller bag to put some other things in. She by no means needed all her clothes, but she didn't know how long she would be gone. Having packed, she just needed a few things from her office. She set the bags outside her office door and walked in. When the Flash Detonator had gone off downstairs it had shaken the whole house. There hadn't been a lot of knick-knacks in her bedroom, but her office was a different story. The art that had been on the wall, now lay haphazardly on the floor. Holo discs littered the room near where her bookcase had turned over. Walking over to the shelf behind her desk she gingerly picked up a holo of her and her brother that had fallen over. She turned it off and gathered the other holos of her family and placed them on the desk. After about 10 minutes, she had collected a pile of things to take with her.

She moved to pick them all up, when she spied a blue box on the floor, underneath her desk. Kneeling down, she smiled as she picked the ribbon-tied item and dusted it off. Kyp's lifeday present. She hadn't had a chance to give it to him last night. Now she was going to be staying at his apartment. The implications didn't escape her, but she didn't really care at the moment. Her father had said she would be safer there and he would do a press release to that extent and Iella had agreed.

Standing, Jade picked up all the items and walked out into the hallway.

/____________________________________\

Kyp had decided on the way home that he would just have Jade take his bed and he would sleep in Jag's. He tried not to think about what his two best friends might have been doing in it since he had been on this assignment. Not really somewhere he wanted to go. Jag and Jaina had walked in the temple with them, the others going off to do other things.

Feeling unusually tired, Jade had decided to humor Kyp on his suggestion to sit on the couch and kick her feet up. Her head still hurt a little, but a nap should take care of that. Putting her feet up on the table, she leaned back into the couch cushions and promptly fell asleep. This was how the trio found her a short time later.

"You two behave." Jaina told Kyp as she and Jag left the apartment and Kyp just chuckled to himself. He should be telling them that. Turning back around, he stood there to watch Jade for a few minutes. She looked completely relaxed for once. He wasn't sure he had ever seen her like that. Walking over to the couch, he started to cover her up with a blanket when she opened her eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." He told her quietly as he sat down next to her. Jade leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped him up in the blanket with her.

"You didn't." She whispered as she settled herself against him. Kyp moved his arm to go around her and kicked his feet up onto the table next to hers.

"Why didn't you stay with your parents?" Kyp asked her quietly. He could feel her face turn up in the briefest of smiles on his shoulder.

"Because whoever is after me apparently isn't afraid to go through other people. I don't want to put my family in danger."

Kyp nodded, even though she couldn't see him. Her parents had arrived on planet last night to prepare for their attendance at the ball in a few days. The fact that the attack had happened was just coincidence. He hoped. They were staying in a local hotel, but Iella had made sure they had surveillance on their room the entire time.

"You still don't think it's Bela, do you." She said, making it more of a statement, then a question. Kyp thought about his answer before he said anything.

"No I don't. If he wanted to get rid of you, there's easier ways to do it than to blow up your house. He would have made it a more personal murder. These attacks are personal, but they're not neat. I'm not saying they're sloppy either. They don't seem to care who gets taken out in the process, as long as you are included in the casualties. Does that make sense?" She nodded her head and he sighed.

"I think the safest place you could be right now is here. You'll be constantly surrounded by jedi for one thing." He added. "Are you hungry?" Jade shook her head. "Thirsty?" Her face shifted up to look at his and he found her glaring at him.

"I'm fine Kyp. Right now I'm just content to snuggle on the couch with you."

Kyp found a smile coming to his face and he leaned down to capture her lips in a gentle kiss. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek and it brushed across a scratch that marred it. One of the few reminders left by the shrapnel from the blast. He sensed her fatigue through their bond and ended the kiss sooner than he would have liked.

"As much as I would like to sit here all day and do this, you probably would like to take a nap." He told her quietly, running his thumb over her injury.

"That would be nice. I have something to give you first." She said, then started to stand up. Kyp pulled her back to the couch and got up himself.

"I'll get it, just tell me where it is."

"Kyp, I'm not an invalid. I'm just tired. I can get it." Jade started to get up again and he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Let me take care of you for once." She looked at him confused and he smiled.

"You don't even realize it do you?" Shaking her head no, Jade acquiesced and stayed on the couch.

"Realize what?"

"The little ways you take care of other people. Like always clearing the dishes when people are talking and they don't realize what you're doing. Making sure I always had fresh towels and sheets in my room, even though you had to do it yourself and you have a maid. Remembering your staff's life days." She looked surprised at his last item on the list.

"Seena told me you always give your staff something on their life days. And it's not a damn fruit basket. I believe you gave her and her boyfriend tickets to the opera last month, correct?" He smiled at the blush that came to her cheeks. "You didn't think I sat out in your lobby and just started at the wall, did you?" He asked. "Now, where's the thing you want to give me?"

"In my small bag. Front pocket." She said quietly. Kyp walked down the hall to his room, reaching into the front pocket of her bag and taking the small blue box out. His curiosity peaked, but knowing better than to open it at the moment, he walked back out to the living room.

Jade was standing by the window, looking out over the skyline, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. He walked over to her and went to hand her the box, when she shook her head.

"Open it." She told him, turning so she could watch him open it. Jade chuckled as he was careful in his unwrapping and he threw the ribbon in her direction once he got it off. When he opened it up he crinkled his brow in curiosity, as he removed the padding from the top of the item.

Nestled underneath was a round pendant of polished silver, a little over 5 cm wide with a hole of about 2 cm in the middle. He gingerly lifted it out and laid the box on the side table. There were words etched around the circle and he spoke them as he read.

"Keep the peace within yourself, then…bring peace to others." Kyp ran his thumb over the words, and gathered the dangling chain up in his hand. Jade spoke before he could.

"I found it when I was out looking for my dress the other day. Well, the pendant I did. I had the words etched on. My dad pounded that phrase into our heads when we were growing up. I thought that with all you've been through in your life, you've probably had to struggle with the concept of peace in your soul. And since Jedi were the original peacekeepers, I just thought it was appropriate." Kyp still hadn't looked away from the pendant. Jade could feel his emotions churn and wondered if she had just stepped over the line. "Just in the short time we've had together, you're brought a peace to my life that I didn't realize was missing. This is just a small thank you for that." She whispered as his gaze still centered on the pendant. "You don't have to wear it, I just…"

Kyp silenced her with his lips, pouring his inability to thank her into their bond. He felt the connection between them flare as he deepened the kiss, pulling her as close to him as he could. Jade curled her hands into the front of his shirt and had no choice but to be swept away by the feelings coming from him. It overwhelmed her, but she didn't pull back. She relished it, never having felt so loved in her life, as much as she did now.

Eventually, he reined himself in and rested his forehead against hers. Jade kept her eyes closed, concentrating on breathing and finding herself again after having her mind so meshed with his. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she found a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Guess you like it." She said breathlessly. Kyp kissed her nose and chuckled.

"I love it. Thank you."

Jade was silent for a while and he started to get worried. "Are you ok?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. Jade nodded slowly and closed her eyes again.

"I feel like I just took a plunge off the top of the senate building." She said, awe evident in her voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

She smiled at him and finally let his shirt fall from her grasp. "You should." Shaking her head slightly, she picked the blanket up off the floor where it had fallen.

"I think I'm going to go and lay down. Will you wake me in an hour?" She asked him.

"Just an hour?"

"I want to be able to sleep tonight." She explained. Kyp nodded and watched as she walked down the hall to his room, the pendant clutched tightly in his hand.

/____________________________________\

"Hey Iella, you have a package." She looked up to see Rien standing in front of her desk, holding a small package in her hands.

"Thanks. Just set it there." The other agent did and then quietly left the room. Iella went back to her work, but couldn't stop glancing at the package. Finally she threw her datapad down in disgust and reached over for it.

/____________________________________\

Kyp walked into the bedroom to wake Jade an hour later, as she had asked, and found himself reluctant to do so. She was on her back, one arm thrown above her head, resting on her halo of hair, the other lying next to her. Her face was one of serenity and he stood there burning the image into his brain.

What he really wanted to do was climb into bed with her and stay there. He sat on the side of the bed, her face turned towards him and reached out to smooth the back of his fingers over her neck. A shiver ran through her and he couldn't help but smile. She stirred slightly, her head turning the other direction and her arm coming down to mirror the other one. Kyp smiled and leaned down to kiss her neck, her movements having left him an opening to do so. His lips barely brushed her skin and when she didn't move, he repeated the kiss adding a little more pressure this time.

After three more kisses, he finally felt her starting to come around, but he didn't move. He saw her mouth turn up into a gentle smile and knew she was finally awake. Jade turned her head back towards him, bringing their lips within millimeters of one another.

"Hi." He said quietly, then kissed her. It wasn't a long kiss, and certainly not as intense as he wanted to give her right now, but he restrained himself. He pulled back to look at her.

"Is that how you greet all your guests?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down onto the bed with her. Kyp now found himself lying practically on top of her. Bracing himself on his elbows he gave her another soft kiss.

"No. Just Jag." He felt her laughter rumble through him and wished that he could have the luxury of waking her like this for the next 50 years or so. He had tried not to think about what the future would bring, just live in the moment. But eventually, his assignment would end and he had no idea what would happen to them then. Jade would inevitably be an unattached woman, but would she want to jump right back into another relationship? And if she did, would it be with him?

"Kyp?" Her voice brought him back to reality. "What are you thinking about?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Nothing."

"Liar. Whatever it was, it made you melancholy." She threw back. "Talk to me." Jade pleaded.

"Really, it's nothing. Just thinking about the future." He said quietly as he rolled off of her and pulled her to him. Kyp buried his face in her neck and sighed.

"Kyp?" He could hear the worry in her voice now. She was like Jaina. Jade wouldn't leave this alone until he told her something.

"I was just thinking about how long it's going to take to break the case open." He said quietly.

Jade didn't say anything for a minute, then she turned in his arms and shot him a look that said, "excuse me?"

"You're lying in bed with me and thinking about when you don't have to anymore?"

Kyp chuckled and tried to pull her back to him. "No, I'm trying NOT to think about being in bed with you."

Jade shook her head, then went to stand up. Kyp kicked himself mentally for not just kissing her senseless until she forgot about his musings, but he knew that wouldn't have worked. He didn't sense she was mad, in fact she seemed quite content. Turning onto his back he put his hands under his head and watched her walk around the bed.

"Guess snuggle time is over." He pouted, but she just rolled her eyes at him.

"I need to take a shower." She told him as she was rummaging in her bag for some clothes.

"Nah, you smell fine." He told her, standing up to go over to her. She looked up at him from where she was bent over her bag and cocked an eyebrow.

"You do." He said adamantly. Jade shook her head, then walked into the fresher. "Women." He mumbled under his breath, and started to walk after her when he heard his comm go off.

"Sith!" This had better be an emergency. "Durron." He ground out a little more forcefully than he meant to.

"Kyp?" Iella's voice came to him, shot through with concern.

"Sorry, yeah what's up?" He said as he walked into the other room and kept his emotions in check. If this was bad, he didn't want to tell Jade just yet.

"Do you have time to stop by my office in the morning?"

Kyp frowned. "Yeah. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, just be here at 0600."

/____________________________________\

"So, you wanna bet on if Kyp sleeps in your bed tonight?" Jaina asked quietly. Jag chuckled and pulled her closer to him. They had just finished watching a movie and Jaina was half on Jag and half on the couch. They would have been a lot more comfortable if they'd gotten up and gone to bed, but that was no fun.

"No bets." He told her, his hand running down her back. Jag heard her sigh contentedly and smiled.

"Chicken."

"No, I just prefer to spend my credits on other things." He told her. Jaina lifted her head up to give him a strange look.

"Were you thinking of something in particular?" She asked.

"Were you wanting something in particular?" He said, avoiding her question.

"No, your comment just sounded suspicious."

"Jaina, you think everything is suspicious." He chuckled, then grunted as she smacked him in the stomach. Jag grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth, planting a kiss on her knuckles, then her wrist.

"You know, if you wanted to make out with me, you just had to say so." He whispered in her ear. Jaina didn't disappoint him. Swiftly, she sat up and stradled his torso, holding his arms down over his head. Jaina leaned down to capture his lips in a possessive kiss and Jag met her halfway.

He let her lead for a few minutes, then tried to free his hands from her grasp. She broke the kiss, but didn't move back from him.

"Uh uh, flyboy. I'm driving." She told him sweetly.

Jag cocked his scarred brow at her and then grinned. He managed to get out "yes ma'am" before Jaina claimed his mouth again.

/____________________________________\

While Jade had been in the shower, Kyp had gotten another call. From Luke.

"This day just keeps getting better and better." He spat under his breath.

"How's that?" Jade's voice came from behind him.

"I have to go and see Luke."

"Now?" Kyp still hadn't turned to face her and he had pretty much closed himself off from her. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah. Jared is coming down to stay while I'm gone."

"What do you think it's about?" She asked as she came around to stand in front of him. Kyp had his eyes closed and a frown on his face.

"Probably what your brother and Iella had to say." The door chime sounded, and whatever Jade had been about to say was pushed aside as Kyp walked over to answer it.

"What did you do now Durron?" Jared joked as he walked in the room. His smile faded as he looked over at Jade, then back to the master.

"I'll try not to be gone too long." He said before he walked out the door.

/____________________________________\

"Was it delivered?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Have someone prepare my ship. I want to see the show."

/____________________________________\


	20. Chapter 20

**Post 20**

He stopped outside Luke's door and braced himself against the doorframe. Kyp was definitely not looking forward to this. Taking a moment to compose himself, he rang the door chime and waited.

The wait wasn't long, and Kyp was surprised to find Ben the one who had opened the door.

"Hey Kyp. Dad's in his office. Go on in." Ben told him as he stepped back to let the master in. All Kyp could do was nod at the young jedi since he didn't trust his voice right now. Making his way down the hall he stopped at Luke's office door. The grandmaster had a small office in his apartment that he used only for those he knew well. He was averse to inviting just anyone into his home.

"Come on in Kyp." He heard Luke call out, and Kyp found himself following the order without thinking. Luke looked up as his friend took a chair and gave him a smile. Now Kyp was really confused.

"How are things going?" Luke asked and Kyp found himself still unable to speak, but for different reasons. "Kyp?"

"Um…do you want the long list or the short list?" He finally managed to get out. Luke laughed, but it did nothing to ease his anxiety.

"I'll put you out of your misery now." Luke finally told him. "Let's start with the fun stuff. I have two complaints."

"Just two?" Kyp snorted.

"Yes, just two. One from Commander Jake Storm and one from Iella. Let's see…gross negligence, harassment, huge ego…"

"What!"

Luke chuckled and Kyp felt that the Grandmaster was enjoying this too much. "There's some other things here too, but it's the commendations that I would like to talk about." Kyp said nothing, just sat motionless in the chair. He was too old for this.

"Let's see, I've gotten statements from Jared Obath, Jagged Fel, Iella Antilles, Wedge Antilles and Michael Storm." Luke looked up to see shock on Kyp's face. He loved being able to do that.

"So I ask again, how are things going?" Luke put the datapad down and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Kyp to recover.

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Fine." Kyp answered, then got a look from Luke. "Please tell me you don't want details." He added pleadingly.

"Why?" Luke's curiosity was in full gear now.

"Because it would invalidate all the good things they've said about me."

"You're not sleeping with her, are you?" Luke threw out in jest.

Kyp nearly choked. Luke was going to kill him. "No." He finally said, thankful he could say it and not be lying.

"Look," Luke said as he leaned forward. "I'm not going to sit here and lecture you if something is going on between you and the ambassador. You're an adult and I trust you enough to know you're not going to take advantage of the situation or the ambassador." Kyp nodded his thanks and Luke smiled.

"Go on. I'm done having fun at your expense. At least for now."

"Have I told you how much I hate you lately Skywalker?"

/____________________________________\

"So, you like having a roommate?" Jade asked Jared as they settled onto the couch to watch the news.

"Actually, yeah. Zekk and I are getting along pretty well." Zekk had offered for Jared to stay with him, since he was only a few doors down from Kyp. That way, all the protection was in one area and Kyp didn't have to worry about it.

She knew Jared had a small apartment in the area, but he hardly ever stayed there. With his meager salary she knew he couldn't afford much. Which brought her to something she had been thinking about the other day.

"I have a question for you." She said quietly.

"Shoot."

"What are you going to do when this is all over?" Jade looked over and found a frown on his face.

"I've been trying not to think about it. I mean, I'm going to be unemployed for sure, and I don't really want to work for any other senator after this. I'll find something though."

"I've got a proposition for you."

Jared turned his head to smirk at her. "Kyp won't be happy to hear that you're hitting on me." Jade smacked his arm and he laughed.

"I'm being serious." She told him.

"So am I."

"Jared." She admonished him and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Ok, ok. What?"

"How would you like to work for me?"

"Doing what?"

"Being my guard." She felt his shock and smiled.

"You're still going to be ambassador after this?"

"Why not? I'm not about to let my husband's stupidity interfere with my dreams. Unless they ask me to step down I don't plan on changing professions." She responded. "Plus, I'll need someone I trust for the position."

"What about Kyp?"

Jade was silent as she struggled to answer the question she had asked herself many times. What about Kyp? She wasn't even sure he was going to be in her life after this.

"Kyp's a Jedi master and has other obligations. I wouldn't dream of asking him to change that." Jade said quietly.

It was on the tip of Jared's tongue to say what he really thought, but he didn't. These two had to work it out on their own. If they two didn't end up together though, he was going to start questioning his sanity.

Jared leaned over to bump Jade's shoulder lightly with his. "Of course I'll work for you. Who else is going to pay me to talk back to them?"

/____________________________________\

"You rang boss?" Raxle asked as he and Tee'ana stepped into Iella's office. She waved them over to a small table and gave them each a datapad.

"I just received this a few hours ago."

Tee'ana's gasp was mentally echoed by Raxle. This was what they had been hoping to find all along. Now, he could finally get to work.

"Where?" He asked.

"It was delivered. No return address, no name, nothing to indicate where it came from. I've already sent the wrapping to analysis but I'm sure we won't find anything."

Raxle nodded, his brain already processing what he needed to do. Which contacts would be the most effective, how much money he might need to get the info.

"When does Bela arrive on planet?" Tee'ana asked, having been quiet since her initial gasp.

"Four days."

"Then we have four days to verify the info." Raxle mumbled, still scrolling through the data. Iella nodded an affirmative, knowing he didn't need it.

"Can you do it?" She asked.

Raxle looked up and offered her a smirk. "Of course."

/____________________________________\

Kyp made his way back to his apartment slowly. He was still in shock. Later his curiosity would get the better of him and he would want to know exactly what they had said, but right now he could care less.

The master found himself at his door and without thinking, plugged in the numbers to open it. He would need to tell Jade the numbers so she could get in. Walking into the living room he found Jade asleep on the couch, with Jared sitting next to her, watching the holo. The young man looked up and sent him a questioning look.

"Everything ok?" He asked, standing quietly so he wouldn't wake Jade. Jared walked over to where Kyp had stopped.

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Jared nodded at his answer and started to walk past him when Kyp laid a hand on his arm.

"Thanks." The master told him softly. Jared smiled and nodded again, then left.

Turning back around, he looked over to Jade on the couch. It was early, but he wasn't really surprised she was asleep again. The doctor had said this would happen and to just make sure he watched her. Any sickness or disorientation was a sign that she needed to come back. Rubbing his face with his hands, Kyp walked over and sat down on the couch next to her. Once he had settled, Jade shifted to lean into him and he wrapped an arm around her.

"I woke you up." He said quietly.

"It's ok. How was your meeting with Luke?" She asked as he rested his chin on her head.

"Better than I expected."

"So you didn't get reamed."

"No, Luke just wanted to mess with my head." Kyp said, sarcasm in his voice. Jade laughed and he chuckled himself.

"Do you feel better now?" Jade asked, but Kyp didn't answer her. She waited a moment then looked up to find him staring at her.

"Yes. I'm sitting here with you in my arms. I feel much better." He whispered before he kissed her.

/____________________________________\

_0100 next morning…_

"Hey."

Iella's head snapped up at her husband's voice. "Hey." She answered, then turned her attention back to what she was working on.

"You planning on coming home anytime tonight?" Wedge sat in the chair next to her and leaned back, waiting for her response. When a few minutes went by and she didn't answer, he frowned.

"Ella?"

"I'm sorry, Wedge, I don't think I'm coming home tonight."

"Why?"

She looked up and Wedge saw the pain and excitement in her eyes.

"You found something." He said, leaning forward to take the datapad from her. She was silent as he looked through the data.

"Damn."

"Yeah. Raxle and Tee'ana have gotten half of the info confirmed. They have a little less than two days to finish it."

"It's almost over." He said, his eyes still taking in the information.

"For him." Wedge looked up at the sadness he heard in her voice.

"Her entire life is going to be paraded before the media now. Every decision she's ever made as an ambassador will be questioned to see if it was made to be a benefit to him. Her critics are going to drag her through the mud Wedge." Standing, Iella walked over to the window and wrapped her arms around herself. "They're going to ask how she never knew what was going on."

"Iella, he fooled everyone, not just her."

"But they're going to say it and that's enough."

He closed his eyes and knew she was right. Wedge just hoped she was strong enough to get through this.

/____________________________________\

Jade made her way out of the bedroom the next morning and smirked.

"You're not Kyp." She told the figure sitting at the kitchen table.

"Force I hope not." Jaina choked slightly, then went back to her caf. Jade grabbed a cup herself and joined the Jedi knight.

"Do I want to know who he has to talk to now?" Jade joked, then frowned when she saw Jaina's surprise. "What?"

"You don't know where he went?" She asked and Jade shook her head in response. Jaina couldn't sense any anger at the fact Kyp had withheld his destination from the ambassador. Just concern.

"He'll tell me if I need to know. I'm not worried about it." Jade took a sip of her caf and looked over at the holonews that was on across the room. "What I am worried about, is how long it's going to take me to go crazy being cooped up in this apartment."

Jaina smiled and thought this might not be so bad after all.

/____________________________________\

The Jedi master walked down the hallway that led to Iella's office lost in his own thoughts. He had slipped out this morning before Jade had woken up and he missed her already. They'd stayed up late last night, not talking, just watching a couple of movies. She'd fallen asleep in his arms and he swore he'd never been happier. But his impending visit with Iella did not sit well on his mind. He had a feeling that there was light at the end of the tunnel but he wasn't sure that he wanted there to be.

Sighing, he came to her office and knocked. Iella's face greeted him and she offered him a small smile, but he found himself only nodding in return. Wordlessly, she walked over to the small table in her office and he followed and sat down.

"I received a package yesterday. We haven't concluded where or who it came from, but it had some interesting things in it." She handed him a datapad and sat back to wait for his reaction. Kyp didn't disappoint. His eyes widen in shock, and she saw anger flit across his features a handful of times before he finished. She had actually expected more of an outburst, but was glad it hadn't happened.

"How much has been verified?" He asked, setting the machine down on the table and meeting her gaze.

"90%." She uttered softly, and Kyp closed his eyes. "We're going to arrest him when he lands, the morning after the ball."

"I assume you don't want her to know."

Iella sighed. "As much as I don't want her to, she needs to know. When we announce his arrest the media is going to have a field day."

"And my job will get that much harder." Her only response was a nod. Kyp scratched his head and stood up to pace. "We should probably move her out of the temple. That way it won't disrupt the students. I don't want to stick her in a hotel because that's too easy for someone to get in to."

"A private apartment would be the best bet, if you can find one." Iella piped up. Kyp nodded absently and the corner of her mouth turned up. She wondered how she had ever doubted he would keep Jade safe.

"I'll see if Jared wants to let her use his. It's a small one, but I don't think anyone realizes he has it. I'll have to make sure it's secure though."

"Kyp, what are your feelings for Jade?" Iella asked quietly and smiled when Kyp abruptly stopped pacing. She could see him composing himself and hoped he didn't lie to her. Not that she would blame him if he did.

"I like her." He said quietly, not turning to face her. "Hell, sometimes I think I love her. Then I wonder if it's just the fact we've had to pretty much spend all our time together and it's just the situation pushing us together." He chanced a glance over her way and was surprised to see a sad smile on her face. Closing his eyes again he wondered if he had finally lost his sanity. He had just confessed his feelings to Iella!

"I'm not sure what to say." She said as she walked over to stand by him. "I haven't exactly handled this whole situation very well, as it pertains to you." She added. "I will tell you this." The intelligence officer told him as she met his gaze. "This is going to be the hardest thing Jade has ever had to do or go through. She feels safe around you and I will be forever indebted to you…"Iella paused, unsure of how to continue. Kyp waited patiently, knowing this had to be hard for her.

"I'm not going to let her go through this alone, Iella. Even if nothing happens between us, I'm not going anywhere until I know she's ok." He whispered when she found herself unable to complete her thoughts.

"Thank you."

/____________________________________\

"He did not!?"

"Oh yeah, he did. Jag wasn't much better."

This was what Kyp heard when he made it back to his apartment and he groaned inwardly. He was sure he didn't want to know what Jaina was telling Jade. Especially if it involved him _and_ Jag.

"Please tell me you're not giving all my secrets away." He said as he walked into the kitchen. It had only been a couple hours since he had left this morning, but he had a feeling the two women had been sitting here the entire time talking.

"Not all of them, just the good ones." Jaina threw back as he helped himself to some caf.

"Yeah, that makes me feel better." He mumbled as he turned back around to glare at Jaina.

"Am I done warden?" She smirked and he rolled his eyes and waved her away.

"I'll talk to you later Jade." She called back over her shoulder as she left and Kyp closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the caf.

He opened his eyes to find Jade grinning at him from her seat at the table. She stood up and walked over to the sink, dumping the rest of her drink and trying not to snicker. Kyp set his cup down on the counter and reached for her, enjoying her surprise at his actions. One of her elegant eyebrows came up and he leaned down to brush his lips against hers.

"I never knew you were such a bad boy, master Durron." She whispered, the coyness in her voice tempting him.

Kyp didn't answer, just reached over to pull her closer and pressed his lips to hers in desperation. The kiss didn't start out gentle like he had intended. Jade had apparently decided to bypass that whole stage as she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back with abandon.

"You know if I was a kid, I would be so scarred right now." Kyp ended the kiss abruptly and looked over to glare at Jared.

"If you were a kid I would beat your…"

"Boys." Jade managed to get out, her head still hazy from the kiss. She shook it slightly and stepped out of Kyp's arms. "Was their something you needed Jared?" She asked her friend.

"Ask numnut there. He wanted to see me." Jade turned to Kyp and raised an eyebrow in question. She also couldn't keep the smile off her face and Kyp just rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say right now." Kyp told the man.

"You said 'Jared, I need to see you'. No time was specified, so I inferred. If you had wanted it to be later, you should have said that." Jared responded with a smirk.

"You're lucky Jade's here." The master told him as he walked out to the living room. "Otherwise I'd kick your ass." He motioned for Jared to follow him and turned to tell Jade they would be right back, but she was already walking down the hall to his room. Well, at least he didn't have to lie to her.

Jared followed Kyp into the office he and Jag shared and waited until the door closed to speak.

"Something's going on with Bela and you don't want her to know about it."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Kyp spat as he walked over and sat down at the desk.

"Wow. You're getting desperate if you're stealing Jade's lines." The younger man chuckled and sat in front of Kyp.

"Bela is going to be home in a few days." Jared nodded at Kyp, turning serious. "Iella got a packet that gives them evidence against him." The guard's eyes widened at Kyp's announcement.

"They have most of it verified and they're going to arrest him when he lands."

"When?"

"Afternoon following the ball."

"You ok?" Jared asked him quietly, startling him. That was not what he had expected him to ask. Kyp took a moment.

"Yeah. Just…I don't know. Conflicted."

"Makes sense. You know what you're going to do about it?"

Kyp looked up and was met with a smile from his new friend.

"No." He answered helplessly.

/____________________________________\

_Later that night…_

Jaina had invited Kyp, Jade and Jared over for dinner that night. Kyp was grateful that Jag was doing the cooking since Jaina had inherited her mother's talent with food; none. Two hours later, Jade couldn't fight the yawns that her body was forcing on her. It didn't help that Kyp noticed. They said good night to everyone else and made their way back down the hall.

Kyp had been unusually quiet tonight, but she hadn't asked him why. She had a feeling it had to do with his meeting this morning and she had been honest with Jaina when she said that he would tell her when he was ready. The suspense was killing her though.

She stopped when they walked into the apartment and watched him go into Jag's room, presumably to get ready for bed. His weariness was bleeding through their bond and she knew he was trying to keep it from her. Jade stood there for a minute before she went and knocked quietly on his door. He didn't answer right away and she waited patiently. Not her strong point. Finally, she looked up when the door swooshed open and smiled at him.

"You ok?"

He rolled his eyes and walked past her, going into his room. She followed and found him going through one of his drawers looking for something.

"Kyp."

He stopped and leaned against the dresser, not turning to face her. The need to walk over and touch him in reassurance was strong, but she quelled it. Jade could feel the struggle he was going through.

"They're arresting Bela in a couple of days." He said quietly. Jade couldn't fight her surprise and walked back blindly groping for a steady surface behind her. She felt the cold durasteel of the door and leaned against it, her mind working furiously. After all this time it was finally going to be over. She was going to be able to move on with her life. Joy flew threw her, then reality came crashing down around her.

Her gaze came up to find Kyp had turned around and was staring at her, his face betraying no emotion.

"Kyp…"

"That's where I was this morning. Iella's team has almost all of the evidence they received verified. It should be done by tomorrow."

She didn't know what to say. Jade's felt her chest tighten painfully and wasn't sure if it was her own or his. Kyp's jaw twitched and she finally came out of her stupor and walked over to him. He wouldn't meet her gaze, so she just leaned into him and wrapped him in her embrace. They didn't need any words since they were both feeling the same thing. The unspoken thing that was happening between them loomed even larger than before. Jade hugged him tighter and finally felt tears come to her eyes when he enfolded her in his own arms.

/____________________________________\


	21. Chapter 21

**Post 21**

_Two days later…_

The next few days passed by quickly. Too quickly for Jade's liking. Kyp was trying to find her somewhere to stay for the first few days after Bela's arrest and they didn't see much of each other. They stole what quick moments they could, but it was nothing like what she wanted. There were no heart-felt talks, or soul scorching kisses.

Iella had offered for Jade to be in on everything up until the arrest, but she found that her usual enthusiasm was lacking, so she declined the offer. She didn't miss Iella's concerned look whenever she saw the older woman, she just chose to ignore it.

Jared came down to sit with her the night before the ball. Kyp was working closely with Iella's team to get the details down with the Prosecuting Attorney to make sure everything was set. There was no room to mess up with this.

He found his friend sitting on the couch, staring at the holonews, not really seeing it. Kyp had become the same way over the last couple of days and Jared had tried to pull him out of it without success. They were shutting down, not dealing with their relationship and it killed him to see his friends like this.

Sitting down next to her, he didn't hesitate to pull her towards him. She came willingly and after a minute, he felt her start to sob. Jared wrapped his other arm around her and held her tighter, resting his head on hers. He closed his eyes and had to fight his own tears. Not even when she had found out about Bela's betrayal had he seen her break down like this.

They sat in silence for a while, until Jade finally calmed. Jade pulled back from him and wiped the tears from her face and sniffed. Turning to face him, she gave him a sad smile.

"Thanks."

"Jade…" he started, then found the words wouldn't come to him and looked away. Taking a deep breath and letting it out audibly he met her gaze again. "I'm sorry." He told her quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She told him, standing to walk into the kitchen. He followed, still trying to find the right thing to say.

"There's no reason you two can't still see each other after this."

Jade was reaching for a glass from the cabinet and stopped at his words. She didn't move for a heartbeat, then brought her arm down to the countertop.

"We don't run in the same circles Jared." She whispered. He walked over and turned her to look at him, taking her face in his hands to make her look at him.

"If you're going to give up on a future with him, at least make the most of the time you have left. Don't let him leave without telling him how you feel."

/____________________________________\

"Does everyone know what their duties are?" Iella asked the group that had congregated in her office. They all nodded, and she settled her gaze on Kyp. He had become so reserved since the day she had told him about the impending arrest. Guilt tried to creep up on her and she pushed it away. This was not her fight, it was his and Jade's. But from the looks of the jedi master, he had already given up and that surprised her.

"All right. If anyone has any other issues or ideas, you don't have long to tell me. After tomorrow night, we're set in duracrete."

Everyone got up to leave and Iella watched the master with a heavy heart.

/____________________________________\

Jade twirled in front of the mirror and smiled as the frothy material slid back and forth over her legs. The dress she and Iella had picked out for the gala was spectacular. Studying her reflection, she put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. The lightly boned bodice, swathed in colors of sky blue and lilac, hugged her figure and stopped just below her hips. Ribbons adorned the edge every few centimeters and the wispy blue skirt, colored to mirror the bodice, swirled around her legs ending just above her feet. There were thin shoulder straps that were more decoration than stability, and came to bows on the tops of her shoulders. She felt like a princess in the dress.

Of course, this wasn't her first time dressing up. Over the years she frequently had to go to parties with Bela and had been to this particular ball every year since she had become an ambassador. This one was different, however. She had wanted the perfect outfit and the dress had felt right the moment she had slipped it on.

Sitting down on the bed to slip on her shoes, she finally allowed the thoughts she had been keeping at bay to flow. Normally, she didn't care if anyone liked her outfit or how nice she looked. These parties tended to be a necessary evil that she endured because she was expected to. But tonight, she was actually looking forward to it.

Tonight, she wanted to shine for one man only. She was determined to enjoy every minute she could with him for as long as she could.

/____________________________________\

The ball was being held in the biggest hotel on the planet and he and Jared had agreed that getting a room there for the night was probably the safest route. Though the three of them sharing the same room should be interesting. He dismissed the agent that was keeping watch out side her bedroom and went to knock on the door. Kyp's hand was mere millimeters from the surface of the door when he paused. Taking a deep breath, he pulled at the bottom of his dress jacket for what felt like the millionth time. Jaina had looked him over before he had left her apartment and had announced him ready to make the ladies swoon. Jag hadn't been able to keep his snicker to himself and had earned a force slap, which in turn had made Kyp feel better. Briefly.

He was nervous and he hated it. Being unsure was not his forte so he had meditated for a few hours this afternoon to try and clear his head. It hadn't helped. All he had been able to think about was her. Her smile, her laugh, her voice. Her touch. Sith! He was so screwed. Kyp went to run his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, then remembered he had tied it back for the night.

These were feelings he hadn't felt in a long time, if at all. Every day he spent with her only intensified them. Her marriage wasn't holding him back. It wasn't even that she was a politician, or close enough to one. He could honestly say that she wasn't like the other back-stabbing, greedy Mynocks that pretended to serve the greater good and only lined their own pockets. Or furthered their own agendas. She reminded him of Leia. She was where she was for the people and she did the right thing even if it was unpopular.

But he had been privilged enough to see a side of her few got to. Underneath her strong exterior, he knew she was more than human. Jade had her flaws just like anyone else, she just didn't let them to be seen. She couldn't afford to. But he knew how much her husband's betrayal had hurt her. She tended to believe everyone was good, but was adept enough at reading people to not get herself set up for disappointment too much.

He also knew she blamed herself for missing Bela's duplicity. Kyp had heard her crying when she thought no one was listening. Felt her composure slip when she thought no one noticed. _He_ had though and it had taken all his will power to not comfort her in the beginning. That wasn't what she had wanted. It was, however, what she would need eventually, and he just hoped she would let him be there for her when that time came.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

/____________________________________\

Jade was buckling her shoes when she heard the knock.

"Come in." She called out and looked up when the door swooshed open. Kyp stepped into the room and Jade had to remember how to breathe. Stars he looked handsome! This was the first time she had seen him in casual dress and she wasn't disappointed. The master was dressed in a black suit with a deep blue shirt underneath. Ironic, since they hadn't coordinated their colors.

Jade stood and hid a smirk as she watched his eyes widen at her dress.

"Hi." He finally said when he found his voice. He hadn't seen her all day, having had work to do and letting her get some sleep before tonight. She had recovered from the last attack, except for the need to take a couple of naps now and then.

Kyp hadn't moved from where he had entered the room, so Jade walked over to him. She reached out to adjust his lapels, even though they didn't need it. It was just an excuse to touch him. Her stomach had been in knots all day, but now it felt like a pack of Ewoks celebrating the destruction of the death star had taken up residence there.

He waited a moment for her to look at him and when she didn't he crooked a finger under her chin and forced her to. Kyp searched her eyes, then leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. Once his lips touched hers, however, he realized that was not enough. He ghosted his tongue over her lips and pulled her closer as she opened up to him. The master kissed her soundly, feeling like a man too many days in the desert without water. It had been two days since he had let his guard down around her and he had to remind himself to keep in control right now. Breaking the kiss, he pulled back and stroked her cheek.

"You look stunning." He whispered, every inch of him screaming to lock the door and forget about the stupid ball.

"Thank you." She responded, feeling a blush creep up her face. Jade lowered her eyes and caught a glint of silver showing at his collar. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was her gift. She had tried not to be disappointed when he hadn't worn it after she had given it to him. After all, she had told him he didn't have to wear it.

Kyp went to pull her lips back to his when his comm went off. Stepping back from her he took a deep breath and plucked the offending item from his pocket.

"Durron." He said, more calm than he felt.

"Are you two going to make an entrance soon or what?" Jared's voice came through to him.

"Yeah, we'll be down in a minute. Cool your jets there Junior." Chuckling to himself, he looked back at Jade to find she had added a sheer wrap to her dress and was waiting patiently for him.

"Ready?" He asked. Jade nodded and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and they left the room.

/____________________________________\

He was fidgeting next to her and she tried not to smile at his discomfort. She had a feeling this wasn't in his comfort zone, but he was doing it anyway and she was grateful. He could have made an excuse and gotten out of it, leaving Jared to watch over her. Jade reached over and took his hand in hers, having dropped her arm from his when they entered the lift.

"We don't have to stay long. Just enough for me to fulfill my obligation." She told him quietly, finally smiling when he squeezed her hand.

/____________________________________\

Jared watched the door, anxiously waiting for the pair to walk into the room. Tapping his fingers against his thigh, he looked over the room and spotted the Governor and his wife. Sensing his gaze, the Storm patriarch nodded in acknowledgement, then returned his attention back to his wife.

Jared was getting ready to comm them again when he saw them walk into the room.

"Wow." He heard himself say. If he had harbored any doubt about those two as a couple it was now erased. He felt a huge smile come to his face as they made their way deeper into the room, eventually ending up by him.

"Damn Jay." Jared told her when they had finally arrived at his position. He planted a kiss on her cheek and chuckled when he saw the blush on her face afterwards.

"I swear, I'm going to permanently red by the end of the night." She mumbled. Both men laughed and then Jared saw Kyp change right before his eyes. Gone was the man who had become his friend in the last couple of months and in his place was a Jedi master. He could almost see him shut off the switch to his emotions and start scanning the room.

Before his mouth ran away with him, Jared turned to smile at Jade and bowed dramatically.

"May I have a dance?" Jade smiled and nodded, briefly turning to look at Kyp before Jared pulled her out onto the floor.

/____________________________________\

"Thank you." He heard her say quietly as they danced their way across the floor. Jared looked down at Jade and frowned.

"He turned himself off when we got off the lift." She explained and Jared huffed. "I'm not surprised, I'm actually jealous and wish I could do the same."

"He loves you, you know that right?" Jade nodded at his question but didn't say anything.

"Tomorrow my world is going to change Jared." She whispered and he pulled her closer and kissed her temple.

"You're strong. I know you can get through this."

"I can handle the press and the sludge news. That's nothing new. I'm not sure I can handle him leaving."

/____________________________________\

"Master Durron." Kyp looked up from watching his friends to find Jade's father had moved to stand next to him.

"Governor Storm."

"How is she?" The governor asked and Kyp looked at him, surprised.

"You've talked to her in the last few days, haven't you?"

Michael took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Yes, but she hasn't really told me what I know is bothering her. She's telling me what I want to hear."

"She's fine. Still a little tired from the accident."

"Good. I'll be glad when this is over." He said quietly.

"Me too."

"For very different reasons, of course."

His eyes shot to the governor in shock. Surely he didn't mean what he thought. Kyp groaned silently and rubbed his temples with one of his hands.

"If you stop clenching your teeth your head will stop hurting." Michael told him and chuckled.

The young man was wound a little tight tonight. "I wouldn't worry about something happening here. Too much security and too high profile. They haven't attempted that since the shooting." He added.

The master snorted to himself. He wished that was his problem. What was really bothering him was that someone had just cut in on Jared and was dancing with her.

"That's Senator Iken." Michael offered as if reading his mind. "He's harmless, just a big flirt. Now his son, he's a whole other matter but he's not here."

He remained quiet, not really knowing what to say. His mind was focused on one thing right now, and that was Jade's security. Kyp was sure if he thought about her in any way, other than a job right now, he was going to start throwing some force lightening around and it wouldn't be pretty. Michael rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh at the young man. It was obvious he had feelings for Jade, but was hiding it, for what reason Michael didn't know. He was sure he would find out soon enough. From what Jared had told him, the feeling was mutual with his daughter.

"Are you going to be present for the event?" He asked, still trying to draw the Jedi into conversation.

"Yes. Iella asked me to be there, just in case. Jared is staying with her." He didn't need to specify who her was. They both knew.

Michael nodded, then narrowed his eyes as he saw Jade. She had a fake smile plastered on her face and she looked over at her father pleadingly.

"I believe I will go rescue my daughter, Master Durron. I'm sure we'll talk again."

/____________________________________\

"Senator Iken, I wonder if I might cut in. I haven't gotten to dance with my lovely daughter yet tonight."

The senator smiled, though Michael could tell he wasn't happy about it. "Of course Michael." Turning to Jade, he inclined his head and she did the same. "Thank you for a lovely dance my dear."

As he walked off, Michael chuckled at Jade rolling her eyes. He pulled her into the circle of his arms and started the dance. "Thanks." She murmured, as she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"You're welcome angel." He responded, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Michael Storm was a huge man, towering over most people. He often joked with his children when they were growing up that he was part Wookie.

Michael led her through the dance steps, making it look effortless for being such a big man.

"Are you tired?" He asked. She had been quiet for longer than normal and still hadn't moved her head from his chest.

"A little. But I'll live. I don't get to dance often so I'm not going to complain." Lifting her head she smiled at her father and he took the opportunity to spin her around, savoring her laughter as he did.

"If I ask you a question, will you be completely honest with me?" He asked, chuckling when her eyes widened.

"Depends on the question." She retorted as the next song started up, but they continued dancing.

"No. No stipulations. You either answer it or don't."

Jade looked away from him for a minute, pondering what in the galaxy he would want to ask her. She had always been honest with her father, to a fault. Probably because they were so similar. Sighing, Jade finally nodded her head.

"Is there something going on between you and Master Durron."

She actually missed a step at his question, surprising him. It answered his question though.

"Dad…"

"Just a yes or no. I don't want details." He interrupted.

Jade's gaze finally met his again and he saw the conflict in them.

"Yes." She whispered. Michael simply nodded, debating on whether to continue his line of questioning.

"I like him." Her father said simply.

"You like him?"

"Yes."

"But dad, I can't like him." She whispered angrily.

Michael smiled, glad to finally get some reaction out of her. "Why not?"

She looked at her father like he was crazy. "Cause I'm married!"

"Yes, you are. Let's look at your 'husband' shall we. He's a slave trader who has no respect for life, he's cheated on you and had a child outside of your marriage. Not to mention that he tried to have you killed." Her father retorted. "It's about time you found someone who treats you right." Michael looked down at her and raised an eyebrow in question. "He **is** treating you right?

Jade nodded, dumbfounded that they were having this conversation in the middle of a ballroom full of people.

"Why are you looking for excuses?" He asked.

"I'm not." Jade told him defiantly as he spun her again.

"Really? You know honey, you're the smartest out of my kids. And if you ever tell someone I said that I'll deny it. But sometimes, you can be extremely dense." He paused for a minute as the music changed to a more complex song and he had to pay a little more attention. "You always take care of everyone else and make sure their needs are taken care of. How about thinking about your own needs for once?"

Jade didn't say anything. She squeezed her eyes shut and she knew her father was right. This felt right. Her feelings for Kyp were the first thing that had felt right in a long time.

"But I'm scared." She whispered.

She felt her father's chuckle through his chest. "That's the fun part princess." He whispered in her ear. "Don't let this one slip away." He kissed the top of her head.

/____________________________________\

"Please tell me you're at least going to dance with her." Jared said to him as they watched the subject of their conversation on the floor dancing with her father again. They had been here for over an hour and Kyp still hadn't asked her to dance. Jared had danced with her twice and her dance card had been more than full the remaining time.

Kyp took a sip of his drink and tried to ignore his friend. Jared wasn't having it.

"Just one dance Kyp. Surely you can control yourself that long." He joked. Kyp looked over to give him a glare and Jared laughed.

"No. It's not a good idea."

"Kriff Durron!" Jared said a little louder than he intended but he didn't really care right now. He leaned in closer so only Kyp could hear him. The two men were standing back by a wall in a corner of the room, their gazes constantly moving around the room. "This might be your last time to be with her." He reminded him, anger finally surfacing at Kyp's inability to at least enjoy himself tonight.

Kyp said nothing and turned his gaze back to the dancers. He hadn't been placating her earlier. She did look stunning tonight and what he couldn't say out loud to Jared was no, he didn't think he could control himself that long. He knew if he went out there and pulled her into his arms that everyone in that room would see through his ruse and see his true feelings. That put her in even more danger than she was already in and he wouldn't do that.

So he stood on the sidelines and suffered.

/____________________________________\

Jaina closed her eyes and leaned her head against Jag's shoulder. They were walking home from having dinner at a nearby restaurant and she couldn't remember ever feeling this content. The temple entrance loomed in front of them and suddenly Jaina stopped. Jag looked over at her and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want the night to end." She told him quietly. Jag looked at her for a moment, then smiled.

"Let's go to the garden."

Her face transformed with a smile and she nodded as he led her up the steps. The garden was actually a meditation garden that was located in the center of the temple. It was one of her favorite places to go. There was no roof over it and she had found herself there many nights, laying in the grass and staring up at the stars.

Jag silently led her through the doorway and over to a bench that was near the middle of the area. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap before she could protest. Tucking her head under his chin, his arms wrapped around her and he felt her relax in his embrace.

"Jag?" She asked, hating to break the comfortable silence but wanting to tell him something.

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you."

She felt his confusion as he looked down and gave her a questioning glance. "For what?"

"Not giving up on me." She whispered, closing her eyes as one of his hands came up to caress her cheek, then felt his thumb brush her lips.

"I couldn't give up on your if I wanted to Jaina." He lowered his lips to hers and lost himself in the taste and feel of her. Jag has hoped, for longer than he could remember, for them to end up at this point. Sometimes he woke up, thinking it had been a dream, to find her snuggled next to him in slumber. He couldn't remember ever being this happy. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and gazed into her eyes.

"I love you." He whispered for the first time in years. Tears came to her eyes as she fought back a sob. Those were three words she never expected to hear from him again.

"I love you too." She said. "I never stopped."

Jag smiled at her, and slowly moved to reach into his pocket. Jaina didn't notice his movement at first, but when she did, a frown marred her features.

"What…" The glittering object he held between his thumb and finger stole the breathe right out of her. He held a silver ring adorned with a single Corellian diamond and two violet stones on either side. She couldn't find her voice as she looked up into his eyes that had never left her face.

"I know we haven't been back together for very long, but I can't wait anymore." He said, his voice rough with emotion. Jaina swore he had tears in his eyes too as he cleared his throat and smiled softly. "Jaina Solo, will you marry me?"

The world seemed to pause in anticipation of her answer. She knew how big of a risk this was for him. He had been turned down flat last time and it had broken his heart and hers. Luckily for him, she didn't hesitate too long.

"Yes Jagged Fel. I'll marry you." A tear slipped down her cheek as she pressed her lips against his, pouring all of her love into their bond.

/____________________________________\

_Two hours later…_

The trio was quiet as they walked back up to their room. The suite was more than big enough for all of them. Jade had taken the bedroom, with the boys out in the living room area where there was a couch for each of them.

Kyp could see that Jade was exhausted. She stood to the side of the lift and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down. He smiled as she swayed a little and he reached over to put his hand on her arm. Her eyes shot open and she smiled at him, then closed her eyes again.

The lift opened and Jared got out before them, scanning the hallway then nodding back at Kyp. He had Jade go before him and walked beside her, his hand on the small of her back. Jared opened the door and let them go in first, then followed. She started down the hall then stopped and turned back to them.

"Thank you for going with me tonight."

"Thanks for not stepping on my toes." Jared threw back and her. Jade laughed, briefly meeting Kyp's eyes, then walked down the hall to the bedroom. The younger man rolled his eyes as he watched Kyp stare after her, then pushed him toward the room.

Kyp turned to glower at him, but Jared waved him in the Jade's direction.

"Last chance Durron." Then he turned to walk into the fresher.

/____________________________________\

She slipped her shoes off, glad to be out of the heels and sighed as she wriggled her toes in the plush carpet. Jade untied the ribbons on her shoulders and was reaching back to unzip her dress when she felt someone grab her hand to stop her. Her breath hitched in her throat as he lowered her hand back down to her side, moving his hands to splay at her hips. She stood there, unable to move as he slowly moved his hands up her sides, stopping just below her ribcage. The breath she had been holding left her finally when his hands left her to slowly pull the zipper down.

Jade felt his breath on her ear, his lips just barely making contact with her skin. Her eyes closed as the zipper reached it's end and she moved her hands unconsciously to keep her bodice from falling down. Kyp moved one of his hands back to her waist and pulled her flush to his chest, the air from his lungs blowing gently over her bare shoulder as he fought to keep his breathing under control.

His lips brushed her shoulder and she jumped slightly from the brief contact, tendrils of fire burning their way down her torso from where he had touched her. She could feel the reverence in the touch of his mouth, as he gradually increased the pressure of his kisses. Leaning back into him, she tilted her head to the side, silently begging him to move his attention upwards.

As he placed more kisses on her neck, one of her hands came up to entangle in his hair. He nipped her neck in response and heard her sigh when his tongue came out to smooth over the spot. Kyp took a deep breath, then moved one hand to her stomach, the other running down the opposite arm. Her eyes were still closed, her breathing becoming ragged when he ran a finger from her neck down her arm, igniting a line of fire along the way.

Turning in his arms she met his eyes and smiled softly. Not trusting her voice, she rose up to claim his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her to him roughly. His tongue slipped into the cavern of her mouth and he heard her moan as he splayed his hands across her backside, trying to get as close to her as he could.

She heard her breath catch as Kyp moved his lips to her neck and gently suckled the skin in his path, making his way back down to her shoulder. Jade tightened a hand in his hair and pulled his lips back to hers, becoming the aggressor now. The need for air made Kyp pull back from her and he tried to think through the haze in his brain. Resting his lips against her forehead, he took a few deep breaths then spoke.

"If you want me to leave, you have to tell me now Jade." He whispered, desire evident in his voice. Jade lifted her gaze to connect with his and slowly stepped back from him. Kyp felt his heart plummet...until her dress followed the same course.

/____________________________________\


	22. Chapter 22

**Post 22**

The early morning sunlight filtered through the window as Kyp lay there, wishing he could stop time. Today was the day and all he wanted was to stay here in bed and tell the world to go away. He pulled Jade tighter to his side and buried his face in her hair. She was on her stomach, sprawled halfway on top of him and he took the hand that was resting over his heart into his and sighed. Last night had been amazing. He had let all his barriers down, forgotten about all his doubts and worries and simply loved her. If only it were that easy in the light of day.

Looking over at the chrono he groaned lightly. He had five hours left with her and he could think of a few things he would rather be doing than thinking.

"Have you even been to sleep?" Her voice, husky with sleep, brought his attention back to her.

"No." He whispered back.

"You need sleep Kyp. You're going to be busy today."

"I already have been." He joked and closed his eyes when she laughed quietly. Jade lifted her head up to look at him and rested her chin on his chest. Searching her face, he couldn't help but smile. Gods she was beautiful, even when she first woke up. How the sith could he leave this?

"I'll survive." He finally answered her. Her brow creased in a frown and he reached over to smooth it out. Jade closed her eyes and committed the feeling of his touch to memory. She wanted to be able to recall what it felt like when he had touched her last night. When she was old and gray, she wanted the memory to be able to sustain her, because she feared there wouldn't be any more between them. But she didn't have the luxury of time to dwell on her fears right now. She could do that later, when all she had was time to think.

"Kyp…" He silenced whatever she had been about to say with a kiss. Shamelessly, she ran her hands over the hollows and planes of his body, memorizing them for her dreams. His taste and texture were burned into her as he turned her over to loom above her. Kyp left her mouth to trail kisses down her neck and she conveyed her restlessness by lightly scratching his back.

"Five hours is a long time love." He whispered in her ear as his tongue gently traced the delicate shell of it.

"Then stop wasting time." She whispered back.

* * *

"We'll be landing in a few hours sir." Bela nodded absently at his guard and anxiously tapped his fingers on his thigh. He couldn't believe he was actually going to ask her. They couldn't keep living like this. It wasn't fair to either of them and he had decided to finally put them both out of their misery. He just hoped she accepted it and moved on with her life. That she was able to forgive him.

* * *

"Wake up sleepy head." A voice whispered in her ear. Jag's ran the back of his fingers softly down her arm and smiled when she finally moved. Her head turned towards him and when she opened her eyes and smiled, his heart beat a little faster.

"So last night wasn't a dream?" She asked quietly. When he shook his head, she sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close.

"You do realize that you're making it extremely hard for me right now, don't you?"

Jaina pulled back and raised an eyebrow at his comment. The mischievous look in her eyes did not bode well for him.

"Now what would I be making…" Jag silenced her with a kiss and then fell back into the bed together.

* * *

"When is he landing?"

"In a little over two hours."

"Good. Let me know which platform. I want to be there."

* * *

Iella looked up as Kyp walked into her office. His eyes were bloodshot and she wondered if he had even gotten any sleep last night. He sat down in a chair near her and leaned back.

"Jared's taking her to his apartment right now." Iella nodded and sighed. "Everything ok?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, I just hate waiting."

Kyp laughed and crossed his arms in front of him. "I know the feeling. I assume he's still scheduled to be here in an hour?" She nodded her head at him and went back to the datapad she had in her hand.

"Do you think he'll resist?" Kyp asked quietly, the silence making him uncomfortable.

"No. He won't want a scene. Even if he does, I don't think it will be an issue."

"Is that one of the reasons you want me there?" She looked up, startled at his question, but he didn't look angry. Merely curious. It took her a moment to recover.

"Partly."

"What's the other part?"

"Because I don't know what his guards are going to do. I need someone there who can subdue them if need be and with you I don't have to explain anything since you already know about the case."

"That explains the first part Iella. What's the other reason?"

Their gazes met and he raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. The door opened and she sighed unconsciously at the save. Standing she didn't look at Kyp again, hoping he wouldn't be bold enough to bring it up with others here. She knew he wouldn't forget though. How do you tell a man that you once hated more than anything else, that you felt safer with him in the situation?

When everyone had finally settled into a seat somewhere, she started their final meeting.

"We've managed to get a platform close to the Planet Security building to have Bela land in. The only thing we have to worry about right now is him getting suspicious and running. I'm hoping that he's arrogant enough about not being caught that he doesn't suspect anything."

"The prosecutor thinks that he can convince a judge to rush a trial date so we can get him squared away in a prison cell. The sooner we can get this started the better, but it depends on the judge we get. So keep your fingers crossed."

"Knight Zekk will be joining Master Durron with the security force to make sure everything runs smoothly. I don't want any of you there in case something does go wrong. You'll be needed during the trial. You're welcome to stay at the security station and watch his interrogation but I would rather none of you did in case you're called as witnesses. Which most of you probably will be when the defense gets its hands on our names." Iella paused and looked over the group.

"After this, the hard part is over for most of us. You all know the drill, keep your mouths shut with the media and only share things with the people in this room."

* * *

"You're awfully quiet." Jared commented as he parked the speeder by his apartment building.

"Sorry. Just thinking." She said quietly.

"Well stop. It's making me nervous." That got a smile out of her. Jared hopped out of the speeder and came around to take Jade's bag from her. They walked two flights up to the apartment and Jade was silent the whole way. Jared keyed the code and stood back to let her go in ahead of him. Intel had come over that morning to sweep the room and add their own gadgets to make it a little safer so he wasn't too worried about it being compromised. At least not yet.

The small apartment was not far from the Jedi temple, which had made Kyp feel a little better. If worse came to worse then they could always bring her back there for a short time. Jared set her bag down just inside the door and scratched his head in nervousness.

"It's not much."

She turned her head to smile at him, putting him a little at ease. "It's fine Jared. I'm just sorry you aren't getting paid very much."

Walking into the room, he motioned for her to take the only chair and settled himself on the couch.

"No biggie. It's enough for me. There's really no need for a tour. This is the living room, there's the kitchen, the bedroom is there and the fresher is next to it." He told her, pointing out each thing when he came to it.

"Why did you start working for Bela? I don't think I've ever asked you that."

Jared chuckled at her question. "Well, it wasn't really by choice. I needed a job and he needed a guard. I definitely wasn't his first choice, but Edward said he had to fill the position as soon as possible. I never asked why."

Before she could ask another question, he jumped up and headed towards the tiny kitchen. "You hungry?" Looking back he saw Jade shake her head and he frowned. "You didn't eat anything this morning."

"My stomach is in knots. I don't think I can eat anything right now." She responded, as she stood up and walked over to inspect some holos on a shelf.

"I don't think I've ever seen you not eat."

"Yeah, well it's not every day your husband gets arrested either." She mumbled, trying to hide a yawn.

"Why don't you go lay down. I'm sure you didn't get enough sleep last night." Jade turned to find Jared leaning against the counter, a smirk on his face.

"Now why would you say that?" She asked, trying to keep a straight face and not succeeding.

"Oh I don't know. Call me crazy."

"That would be stating the obvious."

"I highly doubt you and Durron were up playing Sabaac all night."

"Maybe we were playing strip Sabaac." she joked.

Jared grinned and pointed at her. "Now that, I believe. But I'll kill him if that's what you were doing."

Jade laughed. "Why?"

"Because he was supposed to be doing something else, not wasting time playing a game."

She shook her head. "I can't believe we're having this conversation." Jared laughed and a smirk came to her face. "But I guess when you're not getting any yourself you have to live vicariously through Kyp and I."

Jared looked up and glared at her. "Cold Storm, cold."

"Nothing but love for you Jared." She shot at him, then turned to walk down the hall. "I think I'll go take a nap now."

* * *

Kyp stood to the rear of the hangar, arms across his chest, trying to patiently wait for the shuttle to land. Surprisingly, Bela's pilot hadn't question the landing change, but he was taking an awful long time to touch down. He felt Zekk glance over at him, but didn't take his eyes off the ship. Iella stood just outside the landing circle alone. The rest of the security force had moved back up against the walls, not wanting to alert Bela that anything was out of the ordinary.

The ship finally landed and a minute later the ramp came down. Two guards preceded Bela down the ramp, and he himself looked to be distracted by the data pad in his hand. When he finally did look up and see Iella, a frown came to his face.

"Is everything all right?" He asked as he moved to stand in front of her.

"It will be soon." Kyp heard her say, as Bela and his guards finally noticed the security force that started towards them. He saw the resignation in the senator's gaze as he realized what was happening. The guards were confused for about a second, and reached for their weapons. Kyp felt Zekk tense up next to him, but kept his calm and was relieved to see the guards change their minds soon after.

"Bela Mnaa, you're under arrest for slave trafficking." Iella finally said as security subdued Bela's guards.

* * *

"I want to talk to him."

Iella turned to the master standing next to her and gave him an appalled look.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not." Kyp said as he shot her a glance. "Just give me 10 minutes."

"Kyp…"

"Look, if I had wanted to kill him I would have done it in the hangar. Or before that. Nobody wants him to go to prison more than I do. I just need a little time with him before you start."

He could feel her gaze on him but didn't turn to face her. Finally, after a few minutes, she sighed and he knew he had won.

"10 minutes, that's it. After that, the holo's go on." Kyp nodded as she turned to go and get rid of the guard outside the interrogation room door.

* * *

Bela looked up at the person entering the room and frowned.

"Master Durron."

Kyp inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Senator."

"I must say that I'm surprised they're having you interrogate me."

"I'm not here to talk about your side job Mnaa. I have something else I want to discuss."

"Do I need my lawyer?"

"Not for this. I just need to satisfy my own curiosity." Kyp waited for Bela to allow him to continue then crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall by the door.

"Did you ever love her?"

Bela sat back in the chair and furrowed his brow. "I assume you're talking about my wife."

"Well I'm sure as hell not talking about your mistress." That comment garnered a raised brow from Bela. Looking away from the master he sighed quietly.

"Yes."

"Then why the hell did you start a family with someone else?"

"Is there a particular reason for these questions Master Durron?"

Kyp didn't say anything for a moment, trying to figure out just how much he wanted to divulge to the man. He finally decided nothing.

"Just answer the question."

"At first I think I did. Love her. It wasn't like she deserved though. I finally realized that I married her because she would make the perfect wife for a senator. I wouldn't have to worry about her embarrassing me or doing something that would bring attention to the media."

"So she was a trophy wife." Bela simply nodded and Kyp was surprised at how calm he himself was right now. "You do realize that she's the farthest thing from that." He said as statement more than a question.

"I do now." He said quietly, then looked like he wanted to say something else but paused. Kyp nodded at him to tell him to continue.

"I never wanted her to get hurt."

"Yeah, well it's a little too late for that now. I want you to realize something Mnaa." Kyp said as he walked over to the small table the senator was sitting at. Laying his hands on the surface, he leaned down to put his face closer to the other man's. "Your wife won't be standing by your side, trying to help you get out of this or making you look good. You just dragged her down into the dirt with you and you better pray to whatever Gods you worship that she comes out of this in one piece and smelling like Corellian roses."

Kyp held the man's gaze for a moment, then turned to leave the room.

* * *

He nodded to Iella on his way out of the interrogation room, but said nothing. Without thinking about it, he left the building and made his way to Jared's apartment. Picking up his comm, he called the younger man.

"Obath."

"I'm on my way over." Kyp told him then turned the unit off.

Even though he knew the code, he rang the door chime anyway. The door swooshed open and Jared simply nodded at him, moving to let him in. Kyp didn't say anything, just shouldered his way past the younger man and stopped when Jade looked up at him from her place on the couch.

"Guess I'll give you two some privacy. "

"What do we need privacy for?" Kyp asked, knowing full well what Jared meant. Jade giggled as Kyp rolled his eyes, the door swooshing shut behind Jared. They stared at each other for a moment before Jade stood and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He didn't hesitate to pull her close and place a kiss on her temple.

"He's in custody." Kyp whispered and felt her relief wash over him. Jade leaned back to look at him.

"He didn't resist?"

"No. His guards started to, but changed their minds. Not sure why." He told her, leaning down to give her a brief kiss. Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers and sighed.

"You ok?" She asked him quietly. He nodded briefly, opening his eyes to smile at her.

"Do you two need me to leave?" Kyp turned to find Jared leaning against the wall of the hallway. "What, you need five minutes?"

The master glared at him, which just caused Jared to laugh. Kyp let go of Jade and turned to face the other man.

"We need to get you a woman Obath."

Jared held up his hands and shook his head. "No thank you. I'm just fine as I am. I'll let you guys have all the fun."

"That's a good idea Kyp. I'm sure we can find someone who'll take pity on him." Jade said, turning her best smile on Jared.

"I hate you two."

* * *

_The next morning…_

Jared head jerked up from the book he was reading when he heard the door chime. He glanced over at Jade in the kitchen, fixing lunch before he walked over to answer the door, his hand on his blaster. Kyp always called before he came over and he didn't feel like taking any chances.

"Who is it?" He called out and could practically hear Jade freeze behind him. No one answered him, so he reached down to call Intel on his comm when the door opened on its own.

He didn't have time to raise his blaster before pain blossomed in his chest. The distant sound of Jade yelling came to him, but everything else faded with the dull roar that rushed over him.

* * *

"Jared! Don't…"

The unmistakable sound of blaster fire met Jade's ears as she whipped around to the table to pick up the blaster she had set there earlier. Turning she brought the weapon up in front of her, aiming at the intruders.

"Now is that really necessary ambassador." The man's gravelly voice said as he walked out from behind one of his men. Jade fought to control her fear as two more men followed him into the apartment. She felt Jared's pain in the force, then suddenly felt nothing. Shifting her gaze to one of the latecomer's she noticed a small cage on his back and realized he was carrying a Ysalimari. He walked in her direction a few steps and she sick. This was not good.

The man, who seemed to be the leader, watched her for a moment then nodded to one of his men who left the room.

"What do you want?" She asked, sounding braver than she felt.

"Why, we're here for you my dear." He laughed at the confusion that came to her face.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She told him, forcing his smile to deepen.

"But you are. One way or another. I much prefer you walk out on your own, but either way will suffice."

Jade's eyes darted between the three men that were blocking her only escape, then chanced a glance to where Jared was. She fought to keep a sob from surfacing. They had apparently blasted him point blank in the chest, but he was still alive. She could hear his labored breathing, but that really didn't make her feel any better. He needed help and soon.

When she looked back to the man she saw a smirk on his face that made her nervous. He reached down to raise his blaster and kneeled beside Jared, never breaking eye contact with her. The muzzle of the weapon was put up against her friend's head and she knew the man would finish Jared off without blinking. Her arm wavered for a moment before she closed her eyes in defeat. If she left with these men, maybe Jared would have a chance. Surely someone had heard the noise.

She slowly lowered her blaster and threw it in their direction. One of the man's cronies walked over and wrapped his hand around her upper arm in a painful grip, dragging her back over to his boss. He stood, still grinning at her and when she was stopped in front of him, he reached out to fun a finger down her cheek. Jade jerked her head away from his touch and heard him chuckle.

"Thank you for being reasonable ambassador."

"Reasonable is not a word most would associate with me." She spat back at him, refusing to let him intimidate her.

He just smiled then nodded to his men. "Put her in my speeder. We're meeting at the warehouse."

* * *

"I don't know most of my client's real names. They send me what they're looking for and what they want to pay for it, then I find it. Simple as that."

"And this is the complete list?"

"As of right now yes." Bela told the man sitting across from him. They had arrested him four hours ago, but it felt more like four weeks. Iella watched through the one-way mirror, massaging her temples as she tried to fight the headache that had been threatening for a while. Bela had only told them a little more than what they already had. Of course that was enough to put him away for a long time, but she had been hoping to get more.

"The man who you bought most of your slaves from, Shaw, what can you tell me about him?" The agent asked.

"Besides the fact he's an asshole, not much. He wasn't much for small talk. Knew more about you then you would ever know about him. I couldn't even tell you if Shaw is his real name."

"Your guards all knew about your dealings?"

"Yes. Except Jared. He came on staff a little later and Edward didn't want him involved since he didn't know if he could trust him."

The agent paused for a minute, looking down at the data pad in front of him.

"Where _is_ your head of security?"

Bela's head snapped up to the agent and he frowned. "You don't have him in custody? "

Now it was the other man's turn to be confused. "No, he wasn't on your shuttle with you."

"Edward came back to Coruscant two weeks ago." Bela told the man, his frown deepening.


	23. Chapter 23

Post 23

Kyp was walking down a hallway in the temple when he reached up to rub his chest unconsciously. He shook his head, pushing the small ache from his mind then stopped in his tracks.

"Kyp?" Jag asked, when he realized his friend had stopped.

The master looked up and Jag knew something had happened. "The apartment." He simply said, then after a moment of hesitation started running down the hall, Jag close on his heels. Thankfully Jag's speeder just happened to be parked out front.

He somehow managed to give Jag directions and thanks to his friend's superior driving skills they were there in mere minutes. Kyp didn't wait until the speeder had stopped before he jumped out and ran up the steps towards Jared's apartment.

The sight of two Intel agents lying dead in the hall stopped him in his tracks and he fought to keep his panic down. Jag came up behind him and swore something in Chiss bringing him back to reality. He stepped over the men and cursed himself when he found Jared just inside the door.

"Jared?" He asked, panic starting to creep into his voice. The young guard's eyes fluttered open at Kyp's voice and he grimaced as he took a shallow breath.

"Hang on buddy. We'll get a medic." Kyp started to rise, when Jared's hand shot out to grab his arm. He felt the man's pain through the force and took a deep breath to keep from being sick.

/____________________________________\

Jag stood behind Kyp, blaster in his hand and pulled his comm off his belt. Before he could even turn it on, it trilled.

"Fel."

"Jag. Is Kyp with you?"

"Yeah, listen Iella, we need a medic at Jared's apartment now."

"Ok. I'll be right there. Don't leave until I get there."

/____________________________________\

"They took Jade." Jared whispered. Kyp swore his heart stopped.

"Who?"

Jared shook his head slightly and clenched his teeth as a wave of pain washed over him. "Don't know." He said, then took another breath as the wave passed. "They took her to a warehouse." Jared finished, then closed his eyes and relaxed his grip on Kyp's arm.

"Jared? Jared, don't you pass out on me, man. Stay with me." Kyp told him, turning back to find Jag's gaze.

"Medic is on it's way. Iella said not to leave until she gets here." He offered and Kyp nodded, realizing there was nothing he could do but wait.

/____________________________________\

"Who are you?" Jade asked the man sitting in the front seat next to the driver. She had been pushed into the back between two men who badly needed a shower. The man simply ignored her and she huffed and looked out the window. They were down in the industrial section and the only thing she knew was that they were taking her to a warehouse. She just hoped that Kyp could find her soon. Spending time with these men was not exactly on her list of things to do.

A few minutes later, they pulled up to a huge building and Jade was jerked out of the backseat and set onto her feet. Before she had completely regained her balance one of the cronies pushed her towards the door, but with her wrists shackled in stun cuffs she couldn't catch herself. Two strong arms caught her and set her back upright. Looking up she saw Edward and gasped.

"Ambassador. It's nice to see you again."

Jade cocked an eyebrow. "Wish I could say the same."

"That's enough. Let's get inside before someone sees." The big man said, waiting for the group to get moving. Someone grabbed her arm and practically dragged her towards the door. She was sure that her arm would be covered in bruises if they kept it up.

The inside of the building was empty except for a table and a few chairs against the far wall. She was let go as they came to the table and she looked around, trying to see if there was a way out.

"You won't get far if you run my dear. Might as well make yourself comfortable." The big man said behind her, then pushed her towards a chair. She sat down and glared at him as he walked around to the other side.

"So you must be in charge of this little party." She told him as he leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the table.

"Why do you think that?" He asked.

"Because Edward is too stupid to do something like this on his own." Without the force, Jade never saw the hand that came up and struck the side of her face. She did however, hear the sound of blasters being drawn over the throbbing in her head. Biting her lip to keep from crying out, she looked up and found the other men had pointed their weapons at Edward, who was now standing completely still next to her.

"Edward, I tolerate you at the moment. Don't make me change my mind." Shaw informed him. The security head glared at Jade then walked over to stand against the wall a few meters away.

Jade moved her jaw a little to make sure nothing was broken. Satisfied it wasn't, she looked back up at the man who hadn't moved and frowned at him.

"Who are you?"

"Shaw."

"Ah."

"I'm assuming you've heard of me."

"Yeah. Can't say it's a pleasure to meet you, since it's anything but." She responded, trying to keep her anger in check.

He smiled and raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"It can be."

"Only if you want me to choke on my own vomit."

If anything, Shaw's grin only got wider at her response. She had to keep him talking and give Kyp time to find her.

"You know, if I didn't think you would bring such a high price on the market, I might keep you for myself."

"I won't be here long enough for that to happen."

Shaw laughed. "You really think your precious Jedi is going to be able to find you? I have Ysalamari ambassador. He won't even know where to start looking."

Jade smirked and was pleased to see his smile slip, just a little. "You obviously haven't done your homework on my Jedi then. Ysalimari won't keep him from finding me. And I hate to be you when he does."

/____________________________________\

Jag watched Kyp pace the small apartment and felt helpless to assure him. The medical team had just taken Jared away, not saying anything about his prognosis and now they were waiting for Iella to show up. He swore that there was actually going to be a groove in the cheap carpet by the time his aunt showed up.

"Good, you're both still here." Both men turned at the sound of Iella's voice. Jag chanced a glance at Kyp, but his face was unreadable. That wasn't good.

"They took Jade." Kyp said before she could tell them anything. Her shock was brief, but apparent. Kyp frowned. "You know who it is, don't you?" He asked, walking closer to her and Jag.

"Yes. It's Shaw. Edward is helping him too."

"When I get my hands on that sithing hutt…"

"Can you find her?" Iella asked, trying to keep Kyp focused. He was the only way they had who could find Jade now. They had virtually no idea where she had been taken.

"They have Ysaliamri and they've taken her to a warehouse. Considering how many warehouses there are on planet, the odds of finding her soon are not good." Jag offered.

"The only way we can find her is to go by each warehouse and see if there is a void in the force." Kyp said, resuming his pacing.

"I'll call Jaina and have her round up some of the other masters and knights to see if we can narrow the search a little more. Do you have enough agents to accompany them?" He asked Iella. She nodded and he moved off to the side to make the call.

Iella stood watching Kyp for a moment. Kyp upset was not a good thing. She just hoped he didn't go dark on them if they found Jade too late.

/____________________________________\

Jaina stuck her head in Zekk's classroom and winced. She was afraid of that. He was in the middle of a class, but this couldn't wait. Her friend looked up in the middle of a sentence and frowned at her.

"Class, I'll be right back. Zara, can you please finish leading the discussion?" He asked one of his students, then hurried out of the room to see what was wrong.

"What happened?"

"Jade's been kidnapped and Kyp needs our help finding her."

"Why would Kyp need our help? He can't find her through the force?"

"They have Ysalamari and they've taken her to a warehouse, but we don't know which one. He wants us to fan out and see if we can find anything. I'm going to get Ben and Valin next. Can you ditch your class?"

/____________________________________\

He looked up as the coroner took away the last Intel guard from outside Jared's apartment and ran his hands through his hair. It had been a little over an hour and he needed to get out of here. He was finding it harder to keep his calm when all he wanted to do was rip apart the planet to find her.

Couple that with the fact that he didn't know if Jared would make it, and Kyp was having a bad day to end all bad days. Jag had called Jaina and she was on her way here with reinforcements but every fiber of his being was screaming at him to go now.

"I can't wait." He finally told Jag and Iella and started to walk out the door.

"Kyp wait. You're not going by yourself. I have a team on their way here, just give them a few more minutes." Iella pleaded as she tried to get him to stay.

"She may not have a few minutes!" He yelled back, then instantly regretted his outburst. Leaning back against the wall, he slid down to the floor and put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry."

Iella kneeled down next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know Kyp, but if you go in there alone you're not doing her or yourself any favors. If they didn't have those stupid animals I would tell you to go for it, but you're going to need help."

Kyp nodded absently at her statement and sighed.

"Someone call the cavalry?" The trio looked up to see Zekk standing in the door way with a stupid grin on his face.

"Bout kriffing time." Jag said as he walked over to them.

"Sorry honey, but I had some problems finding Ben." Jaina stepped into the room and gave him an apologetic smile. Jag nodded at her, and pulled her to him to give her a kiss on her head. She looked over at Kyp and bit her lip. He wasn't handling this well.

"Where do we start?" Ben asked as he and Valin finally strode into the room.

"I have a team that is on its way here. We're going to divide them up amongst all of you and then try to cover as much ground as possible. I don't want anyone engaging Shaw and Edward unless Jade's life is in danger. Just get back to me and we'll all take them on together if we can. I want both of them alive if we can manage it too." She added, looking in Kyp's direction. He just stared at her, not making any promises.

/____________________________________\

She had been sitting in the uncomfortable chair for so long that she couldn't feel her butt anymore. For the last 20 minutes, she had been fidgeting and now she had to go to the bathroom. Could this day get any better? Jade waited a few minutes, then couldn't take it anymore.

"I don't suppose I get to use the fresher." She called out to one of the men that was still in the room with her. He looked up from the datapad he was using and snorted.

"Course not." She mumbled to herself, trying to shift to get comfortable again. Shaw and Edward had gone into the small office a few yards away and hadn't been out in a while. Jade wasn't sure she wanted to know what they were doing. Probably finalizing her sale. There was a pleasant thought.

Trying to keep her mind off her full bladder, Jade looked over at the furry little creature that had been placed close to her. It's beady eyes stared back at her and she laughed.

"Don't look at me like that, you're _definitely_ going to die. I can't help you there." She told the creature. The man across the room snorted at her again, but she didn't care.

_Kyp, where are you? _

/____________________________________\

Jag went with Kyp, mainly to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. He was a little worried about his friend and didn't think anyone else would be able to handle him right now, outside of Jaina. They had two Intel agents with them, which helped, but the longer they went without finding anything, the more he worried.

They had searched ten buildings in the last hour with no success. The others hadn't done any better. The driver pulled up to the final warehouse and Jag went to get out when Kyp grabbed his arm in a painful grip.

"This is it." He said, staring at the building.

"You sure?" Jag asked catiously.

"Positive. There's a void in there and I can feel about seven life forms."

Jag made eye contact with the driver via the rear view mirror and got out of the speeder. The other man would contact the teams to let them know they had found it while he and Kyp, along with the remaining agent would scope the building out.

The trio made their way around the building silently, trying to find an alternate way in that wouldn't attract attention. Towards the back they found what they were looking for. A big window was completely out about 30 meters above the ground. Kyp looked over at Jag, who nodded then over to the agent. Agent Kelvin looked at him with a question in his gaze. The master simply pointed up to the grate and waved his hand upward. Kelvin nodded and Kyp took a deep breath before reaching deeply into the force.

He easily lifted the other two men up into the opening and waited until Jag waved his arm out to go up himself. Thankfully the hole was covered so that anyone from the inside couldn't see them. They stood on a durasteel walkway, that thankfully had already been making noise before they arrived. Kyp had been able to hear it creaking from the wind earlier. The walkway was only covered for about 20 meters either direction. Jag and Kyp went left while Kelvin went right.

When they came to the end of the wall, Kyp looked over and Jag raised his scarred eyebrow in question. He projected that he felt the lifeforms just below them to Jag and was glad when his friend nodded in understanding. Slowly, the former Chiss comander looked around the end of the wall to take in the scene below him.

Jade was sitting in a straight-back chair, hands stun-cuffed behind her and the only other occupant of the room was a man sitting about 10 feet from her, looking bored out of his mind. She was turned away from him, so he couldn't get her attention and the other man was turned half-way. Jag flicked his glance to the small box that sat next to Jade and grimaced. Ysalamari. He wasn't even a jedi and he hated those things.

Kyp watched his friend take in the scene and almost shouted at him to hurry up. Suddenly, Jag shifted his gaze to Kyp and smiled. Disappearing back behind the wall, Jag leaned close.

"There's only one other person in the room with her and he looks easy to take care of. Small blaster that I can see."

"Can you take the stupid animal out?" Kyp asked quietly, then rolled his eyes when Jag smirked. "Just do it Fel and I'll take care of the rest."

"We should wait for Iella."

"We don't have time. There are six other life forms not too far from the void. We need the element of surprise now. If we can take this guy without them knowing it, then it will make things a lot easier."

Jag looked reluctant to do what Kyp was suggesting, but he wasn't feeling patient right now.

"Fine. We'll wait two minutes, then we're going with my plan." Jag nodded his agreement and looked over to see Kelvin coming their way slowly.

/____________________________________\

"I really have to use the fresher." Jade finally said, twenty minutes later. The man just glared at her. "Fine, you can explain to your boss why I stink when he comes back out here."

"Darling, I don't think he's gonna care if you smell like a bantha. He's gonna be that much richer when he gets rid of your pretty little ass."

"Wow. Bet you get all the girls with that attitude." Jade snarked, wanting to take her frustration out on someone. She started when the man suddenly stood up and made his way over to her. He leaned down into her face and she had to hold her breath at the stench. "Do any of you take showers?" She asked flippantly.

The man grabbed her jaw painfully, then put his lips to hers.

/____________________________________\

Jag didn't even wait for Kyp to move before he went to restrain him. Kelvin just stood there, not sure if he wanted to get between a Jedi master and Jag Fel.

"Kyp. Stop." Jag whispered.

/____________________________________\

Jade clenched her mouth shut, but the man was having none of it. Squeezing her jaw tighter, he managed to weaken her hold long enough to get his tongue in her mouth. The next second he jumped away from her, yelling in pain as blood trickled down his chin. For a moment he was stunned, then he reached over and smacked her. Hard. Without thinking, she brought one of her legs up and kicked him in the groin.

"Asshole. Might want to move further back next time." She told him, as she turned her head to spit out the blood and taste of him.

/____________________________________\

Jag stifled a laugh as he watched Jade disable the man. _Glad she's putting all that training to use_, he thought to himself. He looked over to Kyp and saw the barely controlled fury he was wrestling with. Time was almost up and he wasn't looking forward to taking these guys with just the three of them.

/____________________________________\

The door opened to Jade's right but she was too concerned with the idiot that had just attacked her to care. Looking up she met Shaw's questioning gaze as he looked from her to his man.

"He thought he would sample the goods." She threw at him and the man just laughed. Walking over, Shaw hoisted the man up and set him back in his chair. Jade held her breath when he put his blaster to the man's head.

"You know the rules. Don't touch." The man nodded stiffly and Shaw reholstered his weapon and walked back into the office.

/____________________________________\

Jaina jumped out of the speeder as it pulled up beside Jag's. While Iella talked to the remaining agent from the boy's group, she reached out and found her friends and the other agent. Kyp was extremely agitated right now and she brushed his presence to reassure him. Jag wasn't quite so upset, but she could sense his apprehension.

Turning she found Iella finished with her agent and waiting.

"They're in there already, but I don't think they've made a move. Kyp's upset though."

"Barker, take three men and a Jedi and see how hard it is to get in the front, but don't move until I say so. The rest of us will go around."

/____________________________________\

"Backup's here." Jag whispered, but Kyp didn't acknowledge him.

"Take the thing out." Kyp told him.

Jag nodded and took the sniper rifle off his shoulder, quietly lowering himself to the ground. It had been a while since he had done this, but it shouldn't be that difficult. The stupid animal was well within his sights. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he looked through the scope and waited for Kyp to give him the ok.

He felt his friend nudge his leg, then Jag fired.

/____________________________________\

Jade heard the woosh go by her, but wasn't sure if she was actually hearing it. Her first instinct was to shift her eyes over to the man who was guarding her, but he apparently hadn't heard it, still lost in his pain. Without moving her head she looked down into the cage next to her and smiled. The force flooded back to her and she gasped, closing her eyes tightly. Her headache intensified, but before she could soothe it she felt Kyp doing it for her.

The need to cry almost overwhelmed her when she felt his touch. She hadn't been joking when she had told Shaw he would find her, but she hadn't suffered any delusions that it would be in time. The odds had been stacked against her and her only hope had been to keep herself alive as long as possible.

She heard a noise and looked over to see the man slumped in his chair, his head down against his chest. A touch on her arm made her jump and she looked up into Kyp's eyes and finally let the tears fall.

/____________________________________\

Shaw listened to his client drone on, almost wishing he could tell the man to shut up. But the money was too good, so he refrained from his impulse.

"So you can deliver her soon, yes?" The client asked and Shaw could almost picture him rubbing his hands together in manic gleefulness.

"Yes. Two days at the most."

"Good. Very good."

Shaw frowned, turning his head slightly toward the doorway. He heard Edward close the call, but didn't say anything to him.

"What? You don't think that idiot tried anything again, do you?" Edward asked, leaning against the small desk that took up most of the room.

"No. I think we have company."

/____________________________________\


	24. Chapter 24

Post 24

Jade went to stand up, but her legs had other ideas and she lost her balance. Kyp's arms caught her and she threw her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

"You ok?" He whispered, not wanting to let go, but knowing that they weren't done.

She nodded and leaned back to look at him. He gave her a smile and a quick kiss, then turned to hand her to an agent. Kyp watched her progress to the far wall for a minute, then turned back to the task still left. Iella's men had surrounded the small office, with Jedi backing them up. Jag and Kyp were the only ones left who were not in place.

"You ready for this?" Jag asked him quietly and smiled when Kyp nodded. He actually felt sorry for these people. They hadn't even realized the huge mistake they had made in pissing Kyp off. This might actually be fun.

/____________________________________\

"What?!" Edward's voice screeched and Shaw rolled his eyes. The urge to push the man out the door and hope he got shot was strong, but he still needed him. His presence would need to be tolerated a little longer. Shaw glanced at his captain and nodded. His men spread out in a line just in front of the door and brought their weapons up.

Most of them had blaster rifles, but there were a few that had surprises in store for the group outside. Shaw stood towards the back of the room, his hand rubbing the weapon at his side unconsciously. He sent a nudge through the force to his captain, then his men fired.

/____________________________________\

Kyp felt the nudge and immediately moved into action.

"Incoming!" He screamed and brought his lightsaber up as he hit the ground. The other jedi had felt it too, managing to get the others out of the way before a sheet of blaster fire ripped through the windows of the office. Glass rained down over Jag and Jaina, who were the closest to the room. Jaina used the force to deflect as much of it as she could from hitting them.

An abrupt silence brought Kyp's head up and he groaned when he saw a small silver cylinder roll out of one of the broken windows. Standing quickly, he grabbed Iella and one of the agents near him and urged them towards the back wall. A few seconds later a wave of light filled the room, followed by an ear-piercing scream. Kyp managed to create a small force bubble around himself and the other two that filtered most of the noise, but what got through still hurt.

Opening his eyes he saw that a couple of the agents had been knocked out by the sonic grenade, but most of them were still standing thanks to the jedi. Their quarry however, had managed to blow a hole in the back wall of the office and disappear down a darkened staircase.

Cursing loudly, Kyp's gaze traveled over the rest of the room making sure everyone was ok. His eyes finally rested on Jade and he found himself walking towards her, where she was talking to Jag. Not caring if he was being rude, he pulled Jade into a hug and buried his face in her neck.

"I'm fine Kyp." She told him quietly as she tightened her grip on him.

"I just needed to hold you for a minute." He whispered, raising his head to place a small kiss to her temple.

"Go." She told him quietly when he looked torn between staying and going after Shaw. "He needs to be stopped." Kyp searched her eyes for another second then kissed her briefly and turned, running in the direction that Shaw and his men had taken.

/____________________________________\

Unbeknownst to the group, most of Shaw's men had circled back around to take out as many of them as possible, per his orders. The less people who could follow him the better. The five cronies, armed with their rifles and some more sonic grenades crept into the shadows that were now forming in the building. Evening was slowly stealing all the light and no one had bothered to see if the lights still worked in the derelict building.

Jade was standing with Valin over near the destroyed office, listening to Kelvin as he directed the rest of the security force. She tuned the man out, knowing she wouldn't be participating in anything they were doing and felt a tingling in the back of her head. She felt Valin grab her arm and pull her towards him, but the blow landed on her neck before she realized it. Jade fell forward as another blow smacked her in the shoulder, forcing her down to her hands and knees. Pushing the pain aside, she rolled to her right and saw that Valin had also been attacked, but she didn't have time to think about him. Coming back to her knees she shot up and listened to her instincts this time, ducking to avoid another hit.

Distantly she heard the rest of the group start to take action, but focused on her own attacker. It was one of the men that had been with Shaw earlier and she suddenly wished she had a blaster to shoot him with. Guess she was going to have to put Jag's training to use again. He lunged at her and she twisted as she jumped back, his fingers brushing against her stomach as he moved through where she had just been.

The man regained his balance and she stood on he balls of her feet, ready to bounce out of the way again. This time when he came at her she didn't run. Jade planted her weight on her right foot and brought her left leg up into a roundhouse kick, smacking her foot into the man's head. Apparently, he hadn't been prepared for that as he fell to his knees temporarily dazed. Her reprieve didn't last for long though as he shook his head and stood back up, coming in her direction again.

Knowing she didn't have the arm strength to do any damage with her fists she prepared to kick him again, when someone grabbed her from behind and threw her against part of the flimsy office wall that was still standing. With the breath knocked out of her, Jade struggled to get free when she suddenly gasped at the fire that errupted in her stomach. The last thing she saw was the satisfied smirk of one of the cronies as he hit her upside the head.

/____________________________________\

Kyp was running down the hall, when the wave of pain hit him. He knew instinctively it was her, but shut down the connection knowing he needed his wits completely right now. The master concentrated on the life forms in front of him, not realizing that Jade's pain had made him miss one of his quarry separating from the pack.

Rounding a corner, Kyp stopped short when he saw a figure illuminated in the brief lamplight. He hadn't felt Shaw in the force and now he suddenly realized where Bela had learned his shielding from. The two men stood, eyeing each other for a few moments when blaster fire came from behind Shaw in Kyp's direction. He brought his lightsaber up to deflect it back towards the other man and was surprised to see him bring his own saber up to send the shots into a nearby wall.

Acting on instinct, Kyp stepped forward, his weapon still ignited and slashed at Shaw. The man was surprisingly agile despite his size, but Kyp pressed on. He had to see just how well trained he was. They slashed and chopped at each other, trying to find a weakness in their opponents for a few minutes, when Kyp stepped back and disengaged himself from the fight, thumbing his saber off in the process and plunging the room back into semi-darkness.

"So you're a force user." Kyp said to the man now blocking his path. "You obviously have some skill with a saber. I'm curious who taught you." He questioned as they circled one another.

Shaw grinned. "No one. I taught myself Master Durron."

"That would explain why your form sucks then."

"I took care of the owner of this fine weapon, Jedi. My form must not be that bad."

Kyp snorted. "Yeah, well now you get to try and take care of me." He taunted as he reignited his saber, keeping it pointed down at his side. He feigned a serenity he didn't feel at the moment. Jade's pain had been a kick in the chest for him, but he hadn't stopped to make sure she was ok. He could still feel her, so she was alive. His trust in Jag and Iella would have to satisfy him until he could bring Shaw down.

Worry about everything else could happen later. If there was a later. What the man lacking in finesse he made up for in brute strength. Shaw was a head taller than Kyp and had a good 34 kilos on him in weight.

Shaw narrowed his gaze and ignited his own weapon, launching himself towards Kyp.

/____________________________________\

"Kyp's going to need help." Jade told Jag as he pushed her back down to the floor. He ignored her as he ripped her shirt open to see how bad her wound was. There was a seven-inch gash that ran from her ribs down to her opposite hip and it was a little too deep for Jag's liking. Ripping the bottom of her shirt the rest of the way off, he balled it up and pressed it against the injury. Jade closed her eyes in pain and laid her head back on the floor, realizing Jag wasn't going to let her up.

"He'll be fine." She finally heard him say, and cracked her eyes to look at him. His gaze was concentrated across the room where Iella and Ben were tending to Valin. The knight had been injured worse than Jade and he hoped he would be all right. Jaina and Zekk had taken off after Kyp, to make sure he didn't need help. It never hurt to have witnesses either.

"Valin needs a medic." She whispered and he looked back down to find her eyes closed and her breathing heavy.

"Yeah, well you'll be getting one too. Last thing I want is Kyp coming after me for you getting hurt."

"It's not your fault. I should have been paying attention. I didn't realize vibroblades hurt so damn much." She sucked in a breath, as Jag pressed the tattered remains of part of her shirt a little harder against her. A small smile came to his face and she raised an eyebrow in question.

"You did good Storm." His approval washed over her and she felt a little better. She _had_ done well, even though she'd gotten her butt kicked.

/____________________________________\

Jaina felt Kyp's intensity through the force as they ran towards him. When they finally reached his position she realized why. She sent him a nudge to let him know they were there, but neither she nor Zekk moved to help. Kyp wanted to do this on his own and she was just here for back up.

The two men danced around each other in a flurry of moves, Kyp's purple saber in sharp contrast to the green one his opposition held. In the little light that there was, she saw a look of intense concentration on Kyp's face. While Kyp had the superior skills, the man was making up for it by pushing his strength every time their weapons connected. She could feel Kyp draw on the force to refresh himself, and wondered how long he could keep it up.

/____________________________________\

Flipping backwards to give himself a short reprieve, Kyp desperately wracked his brain to find a weakness in Shaw he could exploit. He couldn't keep up this pace for very long. Shaw came rushing at him again and he gritted his teeth as his arms shook from the impact. Extending his hand he sent a force push to Shaw, which didn't knock him down but did make him take a few steps back.

"What's wrong Durron? Getting tired?" Shaw taunted as he came at the master again.

"Yeah, of you breathing on me." Kyp gritted between clenched teeth as they made contact again. Drinking deeply of the force, Kyp pushed back and stepped up his attack. This was going to be over soon, if he had anything to say about it.

They fought for what felt like hours before Kyp finally found an opening. Shaw overextended himself just a fraction too much and Kyp pounced on the opportunity, not liking what he was about to do. A flick of his wrist and Shaw's right arm was severed, just below the elbow. To his credit, the big man didn't cry out or fall to his knees. He simply looked at Kyp in shock and clenched his teeth in pain.

"It's over Shaw."

/____________________________________\

Jade was getting sick of looking at the ceiling in the med ward. They had taken her out of the bacta tank an hour ago, but hadn't released her yet and it was starting to irritate her. She knew nothing of Jared's condition, nor did she know how Kyp was. He had closed off their bond not long after she had gotten hurt, and while she understood why, she hated it.

The door swooshed open, and her head turned to see who it was. She returned her father's smile, and tried to stamp her anger down. _Dark side. Dark side_. She chanted to herself, trying to calm the turmoil roiling through her.

Michael came over and placed a kiss on her forehead and she opened her eyes, smiling at him. He unconsciously smoothed her hair back from her face and sighed.

"I'm fine dad." She said, trying to comfort him.

"No more bacta dunks for a while, ok?" A huge grin lit her face and she nodded, sitting up to hug him. Michael held his daughter, thankful that she hadn't been seriously hurt.

"How's Jared?" She mumbled from his chest and got a little scared when he sighed.

"He's ok." Michael responded, pulling back so he could look at her. "He's still in a tank. It was pretty serious, but the doctors seem to think he'll be ok."

Jade nodded and pulled her father back to her, basking in his comfort. They sat there for a few minutes, before the door opened again. Pulling out of her father's embrace she practically vaulted off the bed to throw herself at Kyp.

/____________________________________\

"What do you mean she can't have visitors?!" Kyp roared at the medical droid. He felt Jag's hand on his shoulder and fought to control himself. It wasn't working. He was getting in that room if it killed him. Or someone else.

He heard a snicker from beside him and turned to glare at Jaina.

"Laugh it up Solo." Kyp threw at her and resumed his pacing of the room. It was packed, but he didn't care. Four hours had passed since he had last seen her and all he wanted to do was hold her to reassure himself she was all right. Huffing, he looked up and found Jade's mother smiling at him.

"Have a seat Master Durron." She said quietly, patting her husband's vacant seat next to her. Kyp quietly obeyed and reached over to smack Corran who snickered in the seat next to him. He heard Gabriella chuckle and again tried to rein in his fury. She reached over to take his hand in hers and put it between both of hers.

Slowly, he felt his anger dissipate, then turned to stare at her in confusion. She simply smiled and turned back to watch the door, leaving him in shock. He shook his head, as she leaned over to whisper to him.

"Where do you think she got it from?"

"You're…" he started, appalled that he hadn't noticed it. Of course, he **had** had other things on his mind.

"Actually, empathic. But close enough. Jake inherited that too, but Jade apparently got a little more."

Kyp nodded absently, noticing she was still holding his hand. Leaning back in his chair he rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes. Five minutes later, he noticed the medical droid had gone down the hall and he hastily stood and walked over to palm the door.

/____________________________________\

Michael slipped out quietly, as the two stood there locked in an embrace. Pulling back, Jade ran her hands over him making sure he was ok. Kyp chuckled and grabbed them, pulling them into one hand and settling them against his chest.

"I'm fine. No scratches or anything." He whispered, cupping her face with his free hand. "You on the other hand…" he joked, kissing her nose.

"Made up for it apparently." Jade added. They stared in each other's eyes for a few moments, when Jade frowned. "Aren't you going to kiss me?" She whispered.

A devilish smile came to Kyp's face. "Eventually. But once I start I'm not really going to want to stop. So I thought I'd wait a little while."

Jade nodded and moved to wrap her arms around him again. Kyp put his chin to the top of her head and sighed.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, sensing his reluctance to talk about it but knowing he needed to.

"Shaw won't be trading slaves anytime soon. Edward however, disappeared." He said, his hand rubbing her back, comforting himself more than her. "Iella said the DA is going to see if Bela will turn against Shaw." He heard her groan and became confused. Pulling back he held her at arms length.

"What?"

"I'm not looking forward to this trial." Jade confessed, turning to walk a little ways away.

"You did nothing wrong Jade." Kyp didn't move, knowing she needed a little space right now.

"Bela's lawyer will try and drag me down with him. I'm just not looking forward to having my dirty laundry aired."

Walking up behind her, Kyp wrapped her up and buried his face in her neck. "We'll get through this. Together."

/____________________________________\


	25. Chapter 25

Post 25Two weeks later…

"How in the sith am I supposed to be a credible witness when I've lost my mind?" Jade asked, talking to no one in particular. She'd taken to talking to herself in the last two weeks and that scared her just a tad. The guard across the room from her chuckled and she was thankful that at least he had a good sense of humor.

"I'm not sure he's worried about that." The guard, Devin, answered her, not looking up from his data pad.

"Obviously." Jade said, sarcasm dripping from the word. Devin had gotten used to the ambassador's ramblings and he honestly couldn't blame her. She'd had no contact but him and one of the other guards the entire two weeks she had been sequestered. Actually, he was surprised she **hadn't** lost her mind yet.

At least he got to go home one day a week and see his wife.

Devin went back to the messages he had waiting and nearly jumped when his comm unit trilled. Setting the datapad down, he stood up and walked down the hall to take the call.

"Jackman."

/____________________________________\

Devin came back into the living room a few minutes later and Jade looked up to see him smiling.

"What? They've canceled the trial?" She asked, knowing that wasn't the answer.

"No, but this one I think you'll like."

"What?!" She yelled, making him laugh.

"They've moved your place in the docket up. You testify tomorrow."

/____________________________________\

Next day…

Michael made his way through the throngs of people to find a seat in the third row of the courtroom. He'd been to the trial everyday and while it was interesting, he was not the only one who wanted it to be over with. Jade was a very missed person right now, especially by one person. He had been to lunch the day before with the Jedi master and had to say that every time he talked to him he liked him even more. There was hope for Jade to be happy yet. If the two of them didn't get in each other's way.

Someone sat down next to him, but he didn't turn to acknowledge them thinking it was just a stranger.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to get in here?"

Michael turned in surprise and laughed when he saw Kyp sitting next to him, in causal clothes. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see him here.

"You didn't wipe any minds, did you?"

"It was hard, but I resisted the temptation." Kyp snarked, joining the governor in a chuckle. Even without the force, Michael knew Kyp was anxious. Jared had told him the master had not handled being away from Jade for the last two weeks very well. He had pretty much kept to himself, snapping at people when he did happen to venture out of his apartment or office.

Michael started to say something, when he heard the noise of the room die down signaling the entrance of the jury and the judge. He frowned, not seeing Jade and wondering if they were going to make her wait until the end of the day to testify.

"The matter of the State vs. Senator Bela Mnaa will now come to order. The honorable Judge Ruben Fey presiding."

"Please be seated." The judge commanded and it was surprisingly quiet as everyone complied. Kyp figured it was because people wanted to hear every word of this trial. It had sparked so many discussions and debates in the two weeks since its inception and was the talk of the holonet almost constantly. He didn't even watch the news anymore he was so sick of it.

"I'm hoping it's going to be a short day gentlemen, since we only have one witness on the docket." Fey threw out to the two lawyers sitting in front of him. A murmur ran through the crowd and Kyp and Michael glanced at each other. Interesting.

Both lawyers nodded and the judge looked back down at his datascreen. "Mr. Lowen, I believe you have the witness first." He said, looking up at the Defense attorney. Jade didn't like Marv Lowen. She never had. He'd been Bela's attorney for as long as she had known him, and he just gave her a weird feeling.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Jade Storm."

"And what is your occupation ma'am."

Jade took a deep breath to keep the snark silent that was fighting to be free. "Ambassador to Nyreen."

"And are you married?"

She let the snark loose then.

"Last time I checked." Kyp felt a smile come to his face. Yep. This guy was in for it.

"Ambassador Storm." He gently admonished.

"Yes. I am married to Senator Bela Mnaa." She said, tonelessly.

"Thank you. How long have you known the Senator?" The man asked, pacing towards the jury.

"Seven years."

"And how long have you been married to him?"

"Six years."

"Very good. How would you describe your relationship with your husband?"

"At which point in time?" The man looked up at her surprised, and she just smiled.

"All of it."

"Up until three months ago, I had a very good relationship with Bela. Or at least the illusion of one."

"And do you love your husband?"

"Objection!" The DA called out. Jade took the opportunity to look at Bela while the lawyers argued. He had on his Senator face right now, so she really couldn't tell if this affected him. Not that she cared, she was just curious.

Rolling her eyes at the two men arguing, she leaned into the microphone. "How is that relevant?" She said loudly, the judge not being able to get a word in edgewise. A smirk came to the judge's face, but she didn't see it.

"Are you going to answer the question Ambassador?" He asked, and she looked over at the DA and received a 'it's up to you' look.

"I think that's a mutli-faceted question. To some extent I'll always love Bela, but not like I did before I found out about his hobby."

"Would you say that you hate your husband now?"

"What the…no." She said forcefully, starting to get agitated.

"So you didn't go undercover to get back at your husband?"

"No. I went undercover, if you want to call it that, to make someone pay for their crimes against humanity. I wouldn't have cared if it were Luke Skywalker himself. The fact that it was my husband had no relevance. I just happened to be the person in the best position at the time." She threw back.

"And you had no idea what your husband was doing before you found the evidence that has been submitted?" The attorney asked incredulously.

Jade just stared at the man as if he had gone mad. "No. I didn't make it a point to get up in the morning, kiss my husband and ask 'Honey, what nefarious activities do you have planned for the day? Anything I can help you with?"

Michael saw the judge try to hide his smile and there were various snickers throughout the courtroom. What drew his attention the most, was his daughter. She looked weary, and her sarcasm was just one way she used to hide her anger. He hoped this was almost over.

"Do you wake up and ask your wife that everyday?" She shot back at the lawyer. He had the decency to flinch at least.

"I'm not married."

"There's a big surprise." Jade mumbled to herself and sighed. "Do you have any relevant questions for me? Anything besides trying to implicate me in Bela's side job? I think it's been pretty clear that I was not involved."

"Ambassador, please. I don't want to have to ask the judge if I can treat you as a hostile witness." Kyp dropped his head into his hands. That had been the wrong thing to say.

"Hostile witness?" Jade asked, the disbelief rolling off her in waves. She calmed herself before she spoke. "Mr. Lowen, you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little bitter right now. I've spent the last six years thinking I was married to an honorable man who was making a difference in the universe. Only to find out he was going against the very principles he was espousing to the rest of us. Then, after I find out the truth, I am attacked numerous times and require a bodyguard to make sure I make it through the year. I can't leave my house without protection and my family and friends were also suspected to be in danger because of something I had nothing to do with. Then, just when I think it's all over I'm sequestered away from everything I hold dear and you want me to be docile?" She let the silence hang for a moment. "I think you're asking a bit much."

"But your husband has been proven to not be behind the attacks. "

"I know that now, but it doesn't really absolve him of his crimes does it. If anything, it makes it worse."

Lowen was quiet for a moment, then looked over at the judge. "I have no more questions at this time your honor. But I would like to reserve the right to call this witness again."

The judge nodded his approval and the DA to begin. This line of questioning was much more serene of course, since Jade was just giving the facts. It took her 30 minutes to outline everything that had happened in the last three months and she felt drained at the end. The DA sat down and she looked down at her lap, hoping this was it.

"Any more questions, Mr. Lowen?" The man shook his head and Jade sighed quietly.

"Ambassador, I believe we are done with you now. You may take a seat if you like."

Covering the microphone, Jade leaned over to whisper to the judge.

"I don't have to go back to that safehouse do I?" The judge laughed and shook his head. Relief flooded her and somehow she found a way to take a seat in the front row behind the DA.

/____________________________________\

The judge offered a few remarks to the court, then called the day over but Jade didn't move from her seat. Her gaze had stayed drawn to the floor for the 15 minutes of talk after her testimony and she had just emptied her mind and thought of nothing.

She was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep in that short time, but she almost felt too exhausted to even do that. The empty courtroom, finally came to her attention and she stood up to leave when she felt someone enter the room. Looking over, she smiled at her father and slowly walked over to him.

"It's almost over angel." He whispered as he pulled her to him and held her. She felt like she had lost weight, just in the short time she'd been gone and that worried him. But he knew something that would make her feel even better.

"Come on. I'll take you back to the hotel and you can get some rest." Jade mindlessly nodded and allowed her father to lead her outside. Surprised, she looked up expecting a media frenzy but there was none. Her father chuckled, guessing what she was thinking.

"We had some interference on that particular problem. If we hurry, they won't realize it until we're gone."

/____________________________________\

Jade preceded her father into the hotel room. She stood there for a minute, unsure of which need was greater. Food or sleep. In the end, she didn't have a choice to make. A familiar tingling started in her brain and she looked up to see the most beautiful sight she thought she'd ever laid eyes on.

Before she knew what had happened, she was crying in Kyp's arms. She never heard her father leave the room, or wondered how they made it to the bedroom. The next thing she knew, she was laying in bed, covered up with Kyp lying next to her on top of the covers. She didn't question why that was. The fatigue was starting to catch up with her now and she had no choice but to give in.

Kyp lay there staring at her for a long time. He ran his thumb over the circles that had gathered under her eyes and bit back a curse. She had lost weight too, he noticed as he ran his hand down her arm and over her hip feeling more bone than he remembered. Well that shouldn't be too hard to rectify, he thought to himself. Though there was the issue of them being seen together too often now, he would worry about that later. Everything would happen in due time.

Jade sighed in her sleep and he couldn't help but smile. Now that he had her back, there was no way he was letting her go.

/____________________________________\

_6 months later…_

"Kyp. Stop that. We're going to be late." Jade admonished him as he leaned down to pull her back flush to his chest and place a few kisses on her neck.

"I don't really care." He murmured, continuing his distraction.

"Well I do. We are not going to be late to the wedding. You know that Jaina and Jag would kill us." She said, stepping away from him, but smiling at his groan when she did so.

"You're so mean to me." He pouted as she walked over to slip her shoes on. The temptation to touch her again flitted across his brain, but he ignored it. She was right, much as he hated to admit it.

"Besides." She called back to him, as she left the bedroom. "I promise to make it up to you later." He raised an eyebrow at her sultry promise only hesitating a second before following her.

/____________________________________\

Jaina and Jag had finally convinced Leia to let them have a small ceremony. They didn't want all the pomp and circumstance that would inevitably come with a marriage announcement for them and finally she had relented. Jaina had however, asked her to help pick out her dress. Nothing too dressy, but something feminine enough to not be mistaken for her flight suit.

So they had settled on a simple white dress, that made Jaina look like the princess she was. Leia had cried when she had tried it on and Jaina had to agree with her. It did look good. Though she was sure Jag would be more interested in getting it off. A smirk graced her face at the thought.

"Do I even want to know what you're thinking about?" Her father asked, and she looked up to smile at him.

"No. Definitely not." He raised an eyebrow at her response, but she just laughed.

"You ready?" A voice popped up from behind her. She turned to find Ben, dressed in jedi robes and smiled at her cousin. A quick nod of her head was the only response she found she could give. Biting her lip to keep from crying, she felt her father move closer to her side and hold his arm out for her.

"It's showtime princess." Jaina looped her arm through his and started to walk when he stopped her. Leaning down, Han placed a kiss on her temple. "I love you Jaina."

She beamed at him. "I love you too daddy."

/____________________________________\

"If you pull on that jacket one more time Fel, I think it's going to rip." Kyp commented from the front row, earning him a smack from Jade. They had decided to sit on Jag's side of the sanctuary, since Jaina had enough people already. Jag smiled his thanks at Jade and pulled on the jacket again, making Kyp laugh again.

Jade could tell he was nervous, but it was a good kind of nervous. After all, his dreams were about to come true. She couldn't blame him for being a tad nervous.

The sounds of the Corellian wedding march filled the room and Jade had to smile at the look on Jag's face. Actually, she was surprised he was still breathing. A chuckle escaped her and she turned to look at the back of the room. Jaina wore a floor length, three tiered dress and looked absolutely radiant. Though Jade suspected the glow wasn't from the dress, but from the man she was about to pledge her life to. There were quite a few tears among the crowd as the bride made her way down the aisle.

Han and Jaina stopped at the bottom of the steps and Jag walked down the meet them. It was only three steps, but to them it felt like a lot longer. He smiled at Jaina, not really in control of his facilities at the moment.

"Take care of her Fel," Han whispered, then handed his pride and joy over to a man who was more like him than he would ever admit. Jag nodded, not taking his eyes off his love. They stared at each other for a moment, then remembering they weren't alone, they ascended the steps together.

Luke smiled, remembering what his own wedding day had been like. He had been just as nervous and just as anxious as these two and could understand how they were feeling. They stopped in front of him and he nodded.

"I'd like to welcome all the friends and family that have joined us here today to witness this union. I can't think of any two people more suited for each other, than the two that are in front of me. Nor two people more deserving of each other." He joked, receiving light laughter and a grin from the couple. "And I know I speak for all those present when I say it's about damn time."

The laughter was anything but light this time.

/____________________________________\

"Here you go beautiful." Kyp said, handing Jade a glass of champagne. She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks handsome."

"I swear, you two are gonna make me throw up." Jared said, from beside them. Kyp laughed and turned to cuff his friend on the shoulder.

"You shouldn't let your jealousy make you bitter Jared. We'll find someone who will put up with you."

Jared snorted, but the smile on his face was genuine. He was happy for his friends and wondered, not for the first time, when they would be having their own wedding. Because at this point, it was inevitable.

Jade took a sip of her drink and watched the couples out on the floor. Jaina and Jag had been out there most of the reception, but no one was bothering them. She smiled as Jag gave his wife a gentle kiss and leaned into Kyp's arm that was around her shoulders.

"You ok?" He asked, concern lacing his voice. She nodded and he squeezed her shoulders in response.

"Would you like to dance ambassador?" He whispered in her ear, and she shivered at his suggestive tone.

"I would love to master Durron." She said, looking over at him. He took the glass out of her hand and set it down on the table in front of Jared.

"Now don't drink that, because little boys shouldn't drink alcohol." He told the man, and moved just fast enough to avoid a kick to his leg.

Jade laughed as Kyp led her out onto the floor, and found herself sighing as he pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being close to him. Even though she got to see him everyday, she still couldn't be around him enough. At first, she had thought it was due to the short time she had been forced away from him, but she had come to realize it was simply because she loved him and wanted to be around him.

She frowned suddenly, when she felt apprehension from him and looked up to find him staring at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Wrong?" Kyp laughed. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's right for once." He told her, placing a kiss on her nose, then staring back into her eyes. Jade smiled, but still felt that he was uncomfortable. She was about to ask why, when he cleared his throat and put his hand in his pocket. Frowning, she watched him bring something out and hold it up to her.

Biting her lip, to keep from crying Jade looked from the ring to him and back again.

"I can't wait anymore." He whispered, his own eyes tearing. "Will you marry me?"

She couldn't speak for a moment. The lump in her throat preventing even the one word from passing. So she nodded and held her shaking hand out to him. He slipped the ring on her finger, then cupped her face in both of his hands.

"I love you Jade."

"I love you too, Kyp."

Then he kissed her.

/____________________________________\

Han drank his whiskey and listened to his friends talk at the table, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was too busy watching his little girl dance with her husband. Husband. The reality had threatened to break him a couple of times. His baby was married now and he couldn't be happier for her. He noticed another couple slip onto the dance floor and glanced over to see who it was. A smile crept to his face when he saw Kyp and Jade almost mirror his daughter and Fel's pose. If they were any closer together he'd swear they were one person.

He watched them for a while, glad that Kyp had finally found someone who accepted him. That had always been a worry of his. He knew that Kyp had done some bad things in his life, but he was a good man and he was overjoyed that the person he felt was like a son to him was finally happy.

Han started to look away, when he saw Kyp reach into his pocket. He narrowed his gaze and couldn't contain his grin when he realized what it was.

Elbowing Luke, who was sitting next to him, he took a small drink until his brother-in-law turned.

"I think you better prepare yourself for another wedding kid."

/____________________________________\


End file.
